Our Names Among The Flames
by Nualie
Summary: AU- Rokuro's day began normally... But something has changed, and that tiny difference -that butterfly in the flames- snowballs into a completely different future. The hands of time which were frozen have once again begun to move, but fate heads in a different direction, for better or worst..! Slow burn ShiMayu, Rokuro bickering/accidentally flirting (?), and much more to come!
1. 1: Rokuro and… Shimon?

_***gasp***_ **So many updates in a row?! (cough cough)**

 **Thanks to oddeyesight again. You're awesome. Thanks for putting up with me *cries***

 **This project has been lying around for a while. It should be okay for Anime-only fans to read, though I fear some of the references/timelines would seem strange, since it's mainly going to follow the manga's plot... in the beginning. It _is_ going to diverge pretty quickly, because surprise, this actually has some planning ahead! _*re-gasp*_**

 **I wanted this chapter to cover the whole first chapter of the manga, but I thought it was better to end it the way it did. You'll see.**

 **Whoever you are, I hope you enjoy. Don't hesitate to leave a word and tell me what to think, hehehe~**

 **Up until where and when this story starts, everything is pretty much identical to the manga, so I didn't rewrite it. Have a short summary instead so we can get to the good stuff. This being an AU, however, be prepared for quite a few unexpected surprises along the way...**

* * *

 _Short summary of the first twenty pages of the manga:_

 _Ryougo Nagitsuji and Zenkichi Otomi exorcise an Impurity (Kegare) who was possessing a child. Just as it's defeated, Ryougo remembers Rokuro had promised to come, but didn't. The grandpa notes that he's probably confessing to a girl right about now, and... he is, but she rejects him and honestly asks if there's anything good about him._

 _Back to Seika, Rokuro bursts in and tearfully asks what's good about him. He's stumped by his dorm-mates' lame answers before getting yelled at by Ryougo for skipping exorcism. He answers that his dream is to become an idol instead, but it turns out his "big dreams" change periodically because he can't achieve them. Ryougo ends up saying he can always become an exorcist, and it wouldn't matter if he failed, anyway. Rokuro runs away, saying he won't come back, and Ryougo anticlimactically asks him to buy soy sauce while he's out._

 _The other exorcists of the dorm note that they can't imagine Rokuro being an exorcist, but Ryougo reveals he used to be an amazing one until two years ago- until the Tragedy of Hiinastuki..._

* * *

 _That day was the day their fates diverged._

* * *

Rokuro thought holidays were a nice change of pace, usually, but not today.

Today Ryougo had tried to bait him back to exorcism, again. He had gotten rejected, again. His (newest) dream went down with a flop, _again_. His dorm mates had no qualms against opening his mail, making fun of him, and telling him he had nothing for him. No really, what an _awesome_ day.

 _I'm sick of Ryougo's I-wanna-make-you-an-exorcist-disease._

The plastic bag where the young boy had put the soy sauce hanged in his left hand. His other hand was hidden in the pocket of his jacket. He half wanted to ruffles his unruly black hair, but it he held off, knowing it was messy enough as it was.

No, no. He shouldn't let himself down. Everything was fine today. They were all alive, weren't they? But then, exorcism…

He wasn't seeing the few gray clouds lounging around in the sky. He wasn't seeing the gray concrete of the bridge as he walked along the sidewalk. Everything was gray today, but all Rokuro could see, right then, was the dusty old memory of a more colorful life.

Cheers of his companions as he sliced through the repugnant head of the Impurity. Smiling faces praising his skill and young age. The proud expression of Ryougo.

" _Come on, bring it! I don't care if it's a sin or an impurity, I'll cleanse them all!"_

These words. Words he'd spoken and never would again. They evoked nothing but bitterness, at the very best.

 _Why can't Ryougo understand?_

He still recalled the conversation they had afterwards. A short one. So carefree. How could he have been so carefree once..?

" _I'll become the strongest exorcist ever. Then I'll cleanse a~ll the bad Impurities!"_

" _Ahahaha, what do you mean all the Impurities~?!"_

" _All means all! Don't laugh~!"_

He couldn't control his expression, and let a grimace show.

 _An exorcist… What's the point if you're dead?!_

…

 _But it would probably be impossible to become an idol. Should I just go on a soul-searching journey or something…_

Rokuro sighed. It was such a day…

He raised his eyes, wishing to seek an answer in the endless possibilities of the cloud-speckled azure…

… and his view was blocked by the slightly green face of a red-haired boy. In the middle of the sky. Falling.

"EEEEH WHY IS THERE A PERSON FALLING FROM THE SKY?!"

He heard a splash and hurried to the guardrails, but all he could see were bubbles below.

What?! Where had he come from?! Where had he fallen from?! Why did he look about to puke?! But more importantly…

He fell. Into the river. Right. The boy was going to drown! He looked around his age, maybe a bit older. And really pale. Had he fallen from a plane? But there was no plane to be seen…!

Ignoring the mess his thoughts were threatening to become, Rokuro courageously dived into the river with a brave "HOLD ON!" before the cold water overtook him.

For a brief moment, he was disoriented. He found himself unable to tell in which direction he should reach out for the surface, and panic almost overwhelmed him.

No, no. He opened his eyes, wincing a bit, and spotted light above him. Well that had to be above. He saw a plastic bag floating by. Ah, the current! He needed air. He needed air _right now._

Rokuro steeled himself desperately paddled upward. That was nothing. A few more movements and he'd be there-

Splash!

"Wh, Where are you-?" he managed to cough out, having finally reached and breached the surface.

The water was cold for this time of year. He refrained a shiver when the cool air hit his damp hair… Where was the person in danger..?

He easily spotted the bright red hair of the guy. That was all he had time to see properly when he fell, really. The guy was staring at him from the riverside. Safe.

Wait...

"WHA?! YOU'RE TOTALLY FINE?!"

Well, that was a relief.

Then Rokuro remembered he didn't know how to swim. The water seemed to drag him down, tearing at his clothes, making his body heavier.

How did he always get into these situations?!

* * *

"I thought I was gonna die..!" were the first words Rokuro pronounced after the redhead managed to drag him out of the water.

 _More importantly, why did he fall out of nowhere..?_

Now that he was getting a good look at his savee-turned-savior, the guy definitely seemed... odd. Bright red hair was already uncommon, but his eyes were such a pale blue that he'd almost think he was blind or something. But that wasn't the case; he was obviously glaring at Rokuro while wringing his scarf dry.

Why was he wearing a scarf? They were in May!

"Idiot."

...heh?

Did the boy say something?

Did he just-

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING AN IDIOOOT?!"

"You."

Rokuro choked on his words. That little- Well he was taller than him but- That infuriating-

"Don't try to save people if you don't have power. You'll only end up hurting yourself."

"…"

The boy's thoughts went silent, his mind blank.

Rokuro shifted his center of gravity backwards to kneel on the ground, tight fists on his forelegs. He raised his eyes to meet the boy's.

His knuckles were white.

* * *

"I know," the damp boy said, voice so low, it was almost a whisper, "I know I can't save anybody…" His expression morphed into something not quite like anger, and he laughed.

He laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. Shimon had heard such laughs before. His uncle, when he lost his wife on the battlefield, had laughed so, before bursting into tears.

Shimon was utterly confused. That... made no sense. Why was he laughing? Was it something Shimon said?

The redhead opened his mouth to backtrack, but the younger boy interrupted him before he could get a word out.

"I KNOW! YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME!"

Shimon stayed still, wide-eyed, and started thinking.

He had only meant to advise the civilian shrimp to not bite more than he can chew, no more, no less. To calm his game and stop playing hero. But these eyes…

This look the boy was giving him...

This boy had seen things.

These were not the eyes of a lambda kid from the mainland. They were haunted. What had this brat seen? He was no stranger to these kind of looks. He had witnessed comrades die, he had seen friends losing friends and family losing family…

So there were this kind of people on the mainland too? That was… unexpected.

The boy blinked and uncomfortably looked at his knees. Seems like his own outburst had taken him off guard as well.

Shimon fiddled with the edge of his scarf, averting his eyes to examine the small pool of water forming around his feet. Maybe he should apologize. But he hadn't really done anything wrong, either. What was there to apologize for? Urgh. He had just arrived in this city and he was already facing trouble.

Stupid air sickness. He wouldn't have lost control, wouldn't have fallen without it- Dammit. Now what could he say to that guy who tried to save him at the risk of his own life? He'd bashed him already, and with his luck he'd fallen on a traumatized kid. He was such an idiot. No, the kid was. Oh, screw this, he should've just said-

"Thank you."

The awkward silence lasted a few seconds. The redhead twitched, but said nothing. And then the silence lasted a few more. Shimon wanted to curl up on the ground and disappear, but he resisted the urge.

"...what did you say?" asked the younger, messy-haired boy after an eternity or two, anger visibly blown out of him.

What he said… Shimon readjusted his damp scarf to cover his cheeks better.

"...Nothing. You must be hearing things."

"HEY!"

Shimon sighed. The tension was gone, at least.

"Do you live around here?"

"...sorry?"

"...Are you deaf?"

The kid jumped to his feet before angrily shouting at him again- Shimon just put his hands on his ears. Good thing he had left his earplugs in his (waterproof) bag. The river would've killed them.

After a few (noisy) seconds, Shimon raised his hand to stop his rant.

"I was looking for some place. If you're from around here, you could give me directions."

"WHY SHOULD I GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS AFTER YOU CALLED ME AN IDIOT?!"shouted the idiot.

"So loud," Shimon sighed.

"OYYYY!"

"Fine. Let's start over."

The boy looked at him with an expression Shimon could only describe as "I'm all confuzzled," and raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"My name is Ikaruga Shimon," he began, resuming his attempts to wipe his wet hair. "I am sixteen years old. Nice to meet you. What's your name?"

Shimon felt pretty silly but they were getting nowhere with shouting at each other. Maybe this would work better. He didn't feel like walking away would be any less awkward, and it would leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

The boy stared at him some more before sighing, defeated. "Fine, let's start over."

Now that Shimon could get a good look at him, the boy looked pretty ordinary, if one looked past the idiot hair sticking out despite the water, the blazing red eyes, and- were his teeth crooked or did they look like fangs? Creepy.

...maybe not so ordinary.

The boy whom he'd soon get the name of took a deep inhalation.

"My name is Enmado Rokuro…" he finished his sentence in a sigh. "I'm fourteen years old, and yes, I live around here."

Shimon let a smile show a split second and brought out a damp paper from his pocket. "Now that the presentations are done… Would you mind giving me directions?"

* * *

Rokuro examined the "map" with some level of consternation. It was a labyrinth of squiggly, half erased lines. The river had done it no good. He was already pretty bad with maps...

"I drew the plan from satellite photos."

Satellite? Ooooh it made more sense. Let's see, that should be the river, then. Since it looped like that, then the north should be this way, and…

"Follow me~ I shall be your guide~" He could read that guy's sucky map! Take that Ryougo, he did have skills!

"Ah, you don't have to come with me, Enmado… Directions will be enough…" Ikaruga's tone wasn't annoyed, so Rokuro paid it no mind. It didn't bother him, and that would let him repay the guy who saved him from the river.

"I'm going in the same direction anyway. We'll just have to stop to buy soy sauce… I think I dropped the one I bought earlier in the river…"

Rokuro not-so-quietly mourned his soy sauce. It just wasn't fair he lost it after coming all the way here… Why was he being punished for (attempting) a good action?

He waved toward a flight of stairs that would get them off the riverbank.

"Well, in any case, it's this way."

* * *

"CAN'T YOU STOP TAKING PHOTOS A SINGLE MINUTE?!"

Rokuro was already regretting his offer, but it was way too late now. He had hoped the redhead would keep on his "nice" (cough) streak, but he had gone back to silent and grouchy pretty quickly. Urgh.

"No, I'd rather not."

Rokuro grit his teeth. That bastard categorically refused to take the bus, so they had to walk to the place Shimon wanted to go to.

It wouldn't have been so infuriating if not for the amount of pictures the red-haired guy stopped to take.

"Seriously! We'll never get anywhere at this rate! Unless you have chronic amnesia you won't forget everything even if you don't take pictures!" He sighed… And stopped walking. The taller boy almost bumped into him. Hah!

Rokuro turned around and looked straight into the redhead's eyes.

"There's no way it's for yourself… right? Who're you taking photos for?"

Ikaruga blinked. He looked down to the camera, then at Rokuro, back to the camera.

He seemed to hesitate a second, but ended up speaking his mind.

"My sister is… sick… She cannot leave our home. When she heard I was coming to this city, she asked me to take pictures of everything. I'm doing that. Leave, if it annoys you."

...so that was how it was?

How bad was her condition, if she couldn't even leave their house? Could she even go to school? Why would Ikaruga come to this city in the first place, if she was ill?

If it was Rokuro, he would be worried sick and call every hour of the day. But then maybe she had been for a while. He had no idea and- ah, it wasn't his business.

"You know, I'm really not in a hurry. The later I come home, the better..." Rokuro was trying not to show his grin. Ikaruga Shimon wasn't nearly as cold as he pretended to be, uh? Siscon? How cute.

"What about I give you a tour? I've always lived in this city, I know amazing places~" he challenged.

Ikaruga stayed still for about a couple of seconds. Then, lightning quick, he brought his camera up again and blinded Rokuro with the flash.

Rokuro was about to demand he delete the photo right then, but decided against it when he saw the redhead's expression.

He was grinning.

Oh, not much. It was only a slight upward curve, lower eyelids lightly lifted upward. If it was just about anyone else, it wouldn't even be a "smile".

Was he… amused? Grateful? Happy? Rokuro had no idea, but well, if a photo was all the grouchy boy needed to smile, he could keep it. It wasn't like he'd ever meet that sister of his, right?

Ikaruga seemed to have a lot on his mind. He should relax more often, Rokuro decided.

He was surprised when the red-haired teen answered his already-forgotten question.

"Yes, a tour would be much appreciated, if you're willing. I'm… not in a hurry, either."

* * *

"Ah, I'm hungry. How long have we been walking, Ikaruga Shimon?"

"...two hours… I apologize. I didn't keep track of time…"

"It's fine, it's fine! I told you I'm not in a hurry!"

"Let's stop and eat something. My treat. You are lending me your time, it's the least I can do."

"You're actually pretty nice."

"...I am merely thanking you for the sacrifice of half your afternoon."

"Right."

"..."

"Do you want me to lead you to your destination afterwards? It's getting late. Don't talk about directions, I told you, I live around there. I'll drop you off."

"...I would appreciate that, Enmado."

* * *

They were finally heading back he noticed them.

"Nii-sama, wait!"

The little girl's voice was so familiar… he couldn't help but jolt and turn around.

Two children: a girl following her older brother, both of them riding small bikes.

 _How are you, Chiiko? Miss me already? I'll send you the photos soon._

He had only been gone a day and he missed his little sister- cousin- already.

He made sure Enmado wasn't looking and let himself smile under his scarf.

The afternoon had begun badly, and despite a beginning of soreness stinging his feet after all this walking, he realized he was… relaxed.

How long had it been since he had felt so peaceful?

Maybe Arima was right, he needed a holiday.

Rokuro Enmado, despite being younger, turned out to be agreeable company. Quick to anger, apparently pretty useless, hilarious to poke fun at, and indeed knowledgeable about the town. After half an hour, he had started talking- mostly commenting on their surroundings.

"We came to the amusement park for my birthday. I said I wanted to try the roller coasters, but I was terrified, hahaha… Ami didn't want to go, either."

"I fell from that tree once. I was chasing… Yuuto… and saw a kitten stuck in the tree…"

"Oh, I remember this place! They use to sell ice-cream here, but they closed down last year. We had an epic fight once- They only had one cone left, and Tetsuji-"

Little bits of carefree lives slowly assembling into the puzzle that was Enmado Rokuro.

Shimon liked analyzing. He was good at it.

There was sadness in the words of the younger boy.

He wondered why. It bugged him. Did it have a link with his earlier outburst..?

"Ah, by the way," Enmado started to say, "I completely forgot, but why were you falling from the-"

Rokuro didn't get to finish his sentence, however.

He was cut off when a creepy giggle resounded in the area, stopping the boys dead in their tracks. Shimon and Rokuro whipped their heads toward the kids.

All they saw was a couple of fallen bicycles.

Shimon immediately understood what happened. While Rokuro was calling out in confusion, the redhead whipped around and coolly stated "Stay right where you are," before fishing out a paper charm from his pocket. It was a little crumpled, the ink was a bit smudged, but he could still feel the enchanted power pulsing within through the tip of his fingers.

"Wait-"

Shimon ignored the rest and dived into the alien rotting world, his quickening heartbeat deafening him. These children had _just_ been dragged... this was the mainland. They were going to be fine. There was no reason he wouldn't be able to save them, even alone.

Shimon found himself standing on a small cliff, towering over a small pack of Impurities. They were about to attack the little girl from before... who was holding her wounded brother.

Too late! Dammit. Shimon gritted his teeth. He hadn't reacted quickly enough. Shimon leaped on autopilot, not bothering to wait for his enchanted gear to completely form before soaring in the putrid air.

Rokuro was quickly regretting following Shimon through the portal. He had to pause to take in the impossible sight in front of him.

Broken, collapsed buildings. A polluted red sky and dust-filled air smelling like rotten eggs. A distant background noise of giggles…

This place was like a bad parody of his hometown. A broken, shattered parody littered around in hazardous piles by a careless child.

"What's this place…?"

Ikaruga wasn't with him to answer, however. The other boy had started running as soon as he had stepped into the portal. In fact, Rokuro saw that the other boy had already taken out his weapon -a huge sword- and attacked the Impurities in front of the two kids he saw before.

...so Ikaruga was an exorcist.

The boy was obviously good, making quick work of the monsters. It was practically over before it even began.

He carefully climbed down the cliff, unwilling to slip on a pebble and break his neck, before a horrible thought struck him- what if the boy's sister had been hurt by Impurities? Was that his reason to fight?

..also, his sword was gigantic. Was the redhead compensating for something or what? Rokuro had never seen this enchanted gear before. Maybe because he was from another city? Too bad he hadn't heard its name.

Either way, when Rokuro reached the two children and Ikaruga, everything was over. Just as the redhead brought out the charms Rokuro presumed would let the four of them to return to Earth-

"IKARUGA SHIMON! WHAT'S THIS PLACE?"

-Ikaruga turned to Rokuro, absolutely not startled (too bad) by the violent yell from behind his back, obviously annoyed by the shouting.

"Why are you here? I don't remember asking you to come…"

"Like hell I won't go after you if you disappear like this!"

"You should have held your place until stated otherwise," he grumbled, but relented and answered Rokuro's question. "We're in a place called Magano. It's..."

Ikaruga hesitated, probably musing on how much he had to explain and how much information to hold back. Before he actually explained, though, the girl called for attention to her brother's wounds, and while Ikaruga used his healing charms on the little boy, Rokuro whispered, "I knew it… this is Magano…"

* * *

Shimon heard him. "Ah, could you be-"

"NO! I'M NOT AN EXORCIST!"

Shimon didn't even need to complete his question. The loud, suspiciously specific denial spoke volumes. Too much volume, in fact. Did Enmado really need to be so loud?

Even if Rokuro wasn't an exorcist, he was obviously acquainted with exorcists enough to know a few important things.

The little boy was healed, and his sister was thankful. Shimon started chanting to open the portal, ready to send everyone home-

-Only for him to be interrupted again, this time by a giant, spider-shaped Impurity.

Urgh. And Arima had insisted he takes this assignment as (forced) vacation.

"GET AWAY FROM HERE!"

This time, the speaker -shouter- wasn't Rokuro Enmado, but Shimon…. Though Rokuro held onto the children, visibly torn between running and wanting to protect them.

Shimon let out an irritated sigh. Following the Heavenly Commander into Magano was one thing. He had used the portal in front of the idiot and _of course_ anyone would be curious (certainly not everyone would be stupid enough to follow him through, but Enmado apparently shined with his recklessness, if his stories were anything to go by). When Shimon resorted to barking orders, though, it usually meant that he had a _reason_ to do so.

It was a good thing Enmado wasn't an exorcist. He seemed like the type he'd have to tackle to restrain from running after willingly-running-away Basara.

He considered taking out his wings, sizing up the Impurity. It seemed to be a strong D-class, nothing to be afraid of, but it could potentially do a lot of damage to unprotected humans such as the three with him. Or even ordinary mainland exorcists.

The little girl started to cry.

...not to mention it probably looked frightening.

"Enmado."

"...yes? Do we run or something?"

"I'm going to open a gate and you're going to lead the children out of here. It's too dangerous."

"WHAT?! But! I'm not leaving you here alone! Even if you're strong!"

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I am perfectly capable of defeating an Impurity of this level. I'd rather do so without worrying about the safety of ill-lucked civilians while exorcising it."

* * *

As much of a good plan it was, it turned out that Enmado was unable to follow suggestions directed for his own safety.

When had that brat grabbed a gate-opening charm to come back?!

He had arrived at the moment everything was over, though, and the giant spider… thing… was turned to dust.

"Phew. You didn't need help."

"Of course I didn't. Where are the kids? I told you to get them to-"

The insubordinate _brat_ had the nerve to grin and interrupt him.

"Don't worry, I dropped them off on the main street and came back. Couldn't leave you behind, see?"

In that instant Shimon gave up and sighed.

If this person was too stubborn to even see he could've gotten himself killed, it wasn't the redhead's problem.

"Let's just go back to reality."

* * *

"Good to be back" was the first thing Rokuro thought, stepping out of Magano. He took a deep breath in as he looked around to situate himself- they were in a narrow street. The darkening sky and the buzzing noise nearby told him they had ended up near the market street. He thought it over a second- the way they had ran around and where they had come from, the time they had spent- and concluded they would have covered about the same distance in the real world, in both space and time, anyway.

Which was good to know, because he didn't want to hear he had just spent a hundred years in Magano instead of a few minutes. Or find himself on top of the Eiffel Tower for some reason.

"Does this happen often?"

Rokuro perked up. "What happens often?"

"People getting dragged in Magano in the middle of the street."

Ikaruga was dusting off his clothes absent-mindedly, but his expression was serious. Rokuro supposed this was his "work" mode.

"...not that I know of. Good thing we… you were there. I hope the kids made it home safe."

"I hope they don't get yelled at for being late."

"...we should probably head back, right?"

"I believe so. I wasn't set a particular time to arrive, but I'd rather it'd be today." Shimon paused a second and turned to the younger boy, adding "Thank you for for your company, Enmado."

"No need to be so formal."

That led them to an awkward silence; an awkward silence that made Rokuro return to the map, realizing that they were getting close to Shimon's destination…

...and then he was in front of Seika.

Rokuro blinked. He looked at the map, then at Seika. Yep, it was the place.

...Ikaruga Shimon was asking about Seika all along?! Why?! Was he going to stay there?!

Speaking of Seika, hadn't he left early this afternoon to buy some soy sauce…?

* * *

Shimon saw Rokuro's eyes widen. He saw his mouth drop. He saw the look of utter despair and wondered what unseen calamity was just about to be unleashed.

He was about to voice his concern when, very _loudly_ , Rokuro wailed.

"I FORGOT THE SOY SAAAAAUCE…!"

* * *

 **To be continued~**

 **Now, dear reader, you must have a lot of questions. Why Shimon and not Benio? (I'm afraid the main ship isn't Rokuro/Shimon, no matter what this chapter got you thinking. More characters will appear next chapter, I promise.)**

 **This question will be answered as soon as the next chapter, so stay tuned~**

 **There actually _is_ a logic behind the names used- why it switches from last to first name. Though this is written at third person, there are several point of views. Depending on the "narrator", the names will change, because they don't refer to each other and themselves the same ways. The narrators always refer to themselves by their first name. Just wanted to clear that up and hoping it wasn't confusing. **

**Until next time, then~**


	2. 2: Twin Star Meeting

**HAHAHAHA it's been exactly a month what a coincidence.**

 **It's actually a coincidence. I'll be back in school next month so don't get your hopes too high up TwT**

 **Just something some of you seem to have misunderstood:**

 **THE CHAPTER WAS DONE. I WOULDN'T PUBLISH AN UNFINISHED CHAPTER.**

 **I just meant that I didn't originally plan to cut the scene there, but did so for effect. Hoping that cleared it up.**

 **MORE CHARACTERS APPEAR NOW MUAHAHA**

 **The plot thickens!**

* * *

 **Answering reviews...**

 **Lordshuvra: RokuBeni fic… Ummm maybe? Maybe not? ;) They're not the focus, but they're important characters. You'll see.**

 **Nyan Cat: Sorry. I have plans :P Doesn't mean they'll have no interaction though... muahaha**

* * *

Rokuro was kneeling on the ground, crying over spilled soy sauce, and Shimon could only watch in bafflement, not sure how to console the other boy.

He still needed to get to that place on the map...

"I'm sorry about the soy sauce," Shimon began, "but we still have a destination to reach…"

Rokuro, still moping, said sullenly, "This IS the place you're searching for." He paused a second before adding "Also, I live here," before returning to bemoaning his beloved soy sauce.

Shimon was stunned about this particular piece of information.

Rokuro lived in an exorcist dorm? He had to be more than "acquainted" with exorcists then. Unless he was family? Maybe he had an older sibling who was an exorcist, or his parents? But then why wasn't he one himself? He was living at a dorm rather than a house, too, maybe an Impurity had killed the boy's parents…? Was it that, what the boy had seen, what scarred him?

Shimon's head was full of questions, so he decided to express his bafflement and raised an eyebrow.

….but the younger boy didn't see him, of course, since he was still kneeling on the ground.

He was about to demand Rokuro clear everything up when the door opened.

"Rokuro, is that you? I thought I heard your voice."

The boy raised his head. Were those actual tears in his eyes?! This boy might do well as a comedian.

"I'M STILL PISSED AT YOU, RYOUGO! YOU GO BUY YOUR OWN SOY SAUCE!"

...on second thought, he was too loud for anything involving his voice being broadcast.

"So, this is the Seika dorm, Enmado?"

"Ah, yes," Rokuro confirmed. He stood up and looked at him awkwardly before adding a tentative "Welcome?"

A lightbulb lit up above Ryougo's head. The young man -he had to be about ten years older than Rokuro- asked "You're the newcomer Jii-san talked about? Woah, that's handy, you met Rokuro on the way. I'm Nagitsuji Ryougo."

He almost made a face at "newcomer" but acknowledged Ryougo with a nod. "My name is Ikaruga Shimon. Nice to meet you, Nagitsuji."

Ryougo invited them in and encouraged him to call them by their first names. They were basically going to be colleagues, right? Also, how old was he? Where had he worked before?

The number of questions only increased when they reached the living room. He met two other exorcists. First, Sukumozuka Atsushi , who looked like a punk and for whom he decided the first name would be easier to pronounce. Second was Kuzaki Shinnosuke whom he almost condemned to last-name territory... until he was told he could call him Shi-chan like Rokuro. The other boy immediately insisted on his own nickname, "Acchan". After a confusing torrent of pats on the back and enthusiasm, the redhead found himself seated at the main room's table.

In front of the commander was the head of the dorm, whom he already knew was called Otomi Zenkichi. He was an old, white-haired man sporting huge round glasses and an interesting hairdo.

"So you are Shimon! Welcome, welcome. I hope you have a pleasant time here."

If that was all he had to say, he'd rather take a nap until dinner.

* * *

Shimon was surprised when he learned that the Ryougo and Rokuro knew Seigen.

He realized it during dinner that evening. Ryougo joked that Rokuro could become his rival, and objections from two different people came. Shimon was sipping on his tea, so he could do nothing but snort.

The first one to object was from Rokuro, who, over a bowl of half-eaten noodles, complained _again_ that he wasn't an exorcist. (There was some kind of story here, but Shimon wasn't one to dig into someone's past… too much… the very day he met them.) The second one was the old man, who noted that Shimon was a Heavenly Commander, and their rivalry wouldn't be fair.

The brothers' reactions had been quite funny, actually.

They had simultaneously fallen off their chairs away from him, gotten to their feet, and proceeded to eye him with incredulity.

"How can he be a Commander?!" Ryougo asked. "He's younger than me! Heck, he's almost as young as Rokuro!"

Rokuro's contribution was a question: "Was Seigen also this young when he became a Heavenly Commander?"

"SEIGEN WAS YOUNG ONCE?" Ryougo bounced back with a horrified assessment.

Before he could answer with an appropriate amount of snark, Atsushi asked "What's a Heavenly Commander?"

While Ryougo answered him with aggravated consternation ("HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW?!"), Shimon stayed still, holding his lukewarm tea. He paused to absorb this new information. He had to pause a lot for that since he came here.

The old man noticed how quiet Shimon became, and asked him what's wrong.

"It's nothing… I'm just surprised that they know Seigen-san," Shimon replied.

"Seigen was an instructor here, six years ago. He taught both Ryougo and Rokuro before."

Shimon considered this. So Seigen came a few times to this dorm as well, huh…

"Eh, whatever, I'm going to sleep now." Rokuro said, standing up, his dessert half-eaten.

And before Shimon could ask anything from the pool of questions that nagged him about Rokuro, the boy was already gone. He bit his lip. He didn't want the others' version, he wanted to hear it from Rokuro. He had the feeling that the boy's dorm mates didn't know the whole truth, or didn't understand it.

But really though, why was a boy like him, who didn't want to be an exorcist, living in this dorm?

* * *

Rokuro yawned, ruffling his hair absentmindedly and staggering to the kitchen. He had woken up around two after a nightmare, and sleeping had been a tough affair afterwards. Good thing it was still the holidays, he could always oversleep if necessary.

"Morning~" he called out, rubbing his left eye. Ryougo's voice was the only one to answer.

"Morning~ wait, it's already noon. Guess your sleeping habit's as bad as ever."

Rokuro's still sleepy brain took a single second to register the comment. It hoarded another to follow his "brother's" deadpan gaze upwards, and yet another to register the poor state of his bed hair.

The fourteen-years-old emitted a startled cry, and proceeded to tame his hair back to acceptable levels of "all over the place".

"Seriously, why don't you take a lesson from Shimon? He was up before me this morning, and I woke up at seven~"

Rokuro's face contorted. "It's not like I'm trying to compete with him or anything!"

Ryougo was insufferable lately. Always trying to shove him back onto a path he didn't want anything to do with.

Right now, he had his "riiiight I believe you" face and it was absolutely infuriating.

"Why would I?" Rokuro asked irritably, as they entered the living room, where Grandpa and the rest were. "I'm not an exorcist anymore, Ryougo!"

"You used to be?"

Rokuro whipped his head around. Ikaruga hadn't said anything when he came in, he didn't realize he was in the room.

"I quit two years ago." It was a fair enough question. Before Ryougo could interject, he added "Definitevely!" and marched away towards the bathroom. He wanted to be alone and clear his head.

Ryougo couldn't understand. He'd never felt the helplessness, the terror, the _disgust_ Rokuro had suffered through that night.

Even after two years, Rokuro felt filthy. Stained. Begrimed. Forever crippled by the blood of his friends covering his hands, physically washed away a long time ago, but forever imprinted in his flesh. The blood was still there, and some particularly awful nights he could _feel_ it. It was slick and stuck to his skin, invisible in the dark, but indubitably _present_. Everywhere it touched him it would rot his skin away, putrefy his muscles, coagulate the blood in his own veins until it was dry and crumbled into dust. Then Rokuro would become very small, curled up in a bed he didn't recognize anymore... because Rokuro would be twelve again. He would be crying over his own weakness among overwhelming darkness and flashes of flames…

"Enmado?"

His whole body jolted. If it had been humanly possible, he would've literally jumped out of his skin.

"Ikaruga." Rokuro's voice was flat, even to his own ears.

"You've been standing there for five minutes, staring into space."

"Oh. I didn't realize." Rokuro usually didn't space out for long, with Ryougo constantly breathing in his neck. "Did you need the bathroom for something?"

"What do you think? Yes, actually I wanted to watch you take a bath, Enmado, and maybe wash your back while I was at it."

Rokuro groaned. He didn't want to deal with the grumpy boy's sarcasm this early in the morni… afternoon.

"Go ahead then. Be my guest, chicken head."

"How did you call me?!"

* * *

Mayura stretched, yawned without a sound, and set her mind.

She had to get out of bed. It was late in the day already. No matter the fluffiness of her pillows, the lazy warmth under the covers, and the perspective of the cold floor. Although they were in May, she knew it would be cold.

She didn't make a habit out of waking up late, but she stayed up until one last night, engrossed in a novel. Mayura didn't wake until half past eleven; and by then she knew it was too late for breakfast. Nothing she had to do was enough motivation to get up on a holiday.

Of course, she didn't know that day would be a major turning point in her life. Nor did she imagine looking back to this innocently lazy moment and chuckling softly at her own childish carelessness.

She opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. The light filtered through the curtains. She shifted on her pillow, now able to see beyond the sheets brought up to her shoulders and behind the bed. Her feet were two tiny bumps under the blanket.

She could make out the outline of her desk against the window, which was, due to the holidays, not overloaded with books. Her journal was barely visible on top of it, a tiny bump on the flat-looking shadow that was the top of her desk. A glint betrayed the presence of a photo frame on the desk's side.

She stretched again, reaching for her alarm clock. She had checked the time a while ago, before succumbing to hazy stories and half-awake thoughts that sunk her back into her dreaming state.

 **[01:07]**

Mayura sleepily drew a half smile. These numbers were practically identical to the ones she had fallen asleep to.

Then her brain actually processed the information, and she threw away the covers. She had already missed breakfast, her empty stomach was happy to remind her of that fact. She was not going to miss out lunch as well! Why didn't her mother wake her up?

Getting ready, including a morning shower, took half an hour. By then she was starting to wonder why she hadn't heard her mother yet. Perhaps Yukari heard her hoard the bathroom from the floor below, and deemed unnecessary to bug her.

She was humming quietly when she finally climbed down, at 1:45 on the spot.

Her foot had barely reached the lowest step when the phone rang, startling her. She hurriedly picked it up, but didn't have the time to answer before a happy eager voice began to speak up.

"Hiii~ it's Mayura-chan, right~"

Mayura raised an eyebrow and confirmed, the voice chuckled.

"Are you a friend of my parents, if you know my name? They're not here, but I can take a message."

"No need~ You're the one I wanted to talk to. Your friends from the Seika dorm will be here in a few minutes to pick you up, so you should eat a snack before they arrive~"

Mayura's other eyebrow shot up. "Rokuro…? Where are they taking me? Who are you?"

The voice chuckled. "I'm a friend of your father, you could say." So this had to do with exorcists. Dread clenched her stomach. "I asked them to take you on their way to the meeting place, since it concerns you also~"

Curiously, her impressions of dread didn't ease their grip. More like the opposite.

"... Is Dad okay?"

"Yes." The tone was a little more serious, but Mayura wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. "Don't worry about your parents. Seigen-san is on the other side of Japan, if you must know, and not on an excessively dangerous mission."

She was relieved, but something in the voice's words made her uneasy. It was definitely male, but it wasn't one she remembered, and she wasn't sure she should trust it... but she didn't see how following his advice to eat would be bad, and she could always trust Rokuro and the others.

She had probably stayed silent a little too long. "Well, if you have no other question, see you later, Mayura-chaaan~"

He hung up.

She ate an apple and a banana, unwilling to start cooking when the Seika guys could arrive anytime. She looked for her mother, but she wasn't home. Mayura decided to leave a note, figuring that she wouldn't be back before she had to go. She did so wisely, as she heard the door ring a mere fifteen minutes later.

The others were still in the van. The dorm mates conveniently owned a car with two collapsible seats in the back, which brought its total capacity to seven. As far as she could tell, the driver was Ryougo and her grandfather was sitting at the front. That left the three remaining boys on the second row-

-and an unknown red mop of hair at the very back. She was sure it wasn't Atsushi.

"Mayura!" Rokuro's voice. She smiled. "Are you ready to go?" She nodded absentmindedly, saying hello to the rest of the car. Rokuro pulled up his seat, and she slipped in the trunk before he could object. "Wait, I can go to the back…"

It was cute, how he wanted to be a gentleman for this, but she didn't need it.

"You already have a seat, Rokuro! And I'll get to know this person I don't know…?"

Rokuro complied, sitting back down, knowing he had lost the argument before it started. His hair was untamed in a slightly unusual way, and- was that a bruise blossoming on his shoulder? Had her friend gotten into a fight?

She clipped the security belt and the car went back to the road. She still didn't know where they were going, but she figured she'd know soon enough. Rokuro started to squabble with Atsushi about something -Noodles? What?- and wasn't paying attention to to her anymore. She decided to chat with the stranger each twist of the road threatened to throw her against.

The red mop of spiky hair turned out to belong to a grumpy boy, perhaps a little older than her. He was stubbornly ignoring everyone and staring outside.

She noticed a bruise on him as well, partially hidden by his shirt.

"Did you fight with Rokuro?"

It was probably not the best conversation opener ever, especially for a first talk. She didn't even know his name! _Stupid, stupid._ The words were already out, though, so it was too late now.

He acknowledged her with a grunt, still not looking at her.

"My name is Otomi Mayura." She might as well be the polite one of the two. Maybe he'd open up. "You may know that already- but the man in the front seat is my grandfather."

His eyes flicked to her and went back to glaring holes into the glass. They were pale blue, just like the spring sky above. "I knew." After a short pause, he added "Ikaruga Shimon" in a slightly softer voice.

That had to be his name. "I've never met you, are you an exorcist also?"

He nodded. She wondered if she should ask more questions- if he wasn't in the mood to talk, it would be rude to keep bugging him.

She didn't need to. "I arrived to the Seika dorm yesterday, but I don't know how long I'll be staying, yet."

"Oh, okay."

Was he implying he would probably leave soon? What a shame.

She didn't find anything else to ask, apart from his age -sixteen- and they spent the rest of the trip in silence.

* * *

She only realized why he was in such a bad mood when he staggered outside of the car in front of the temple. He breathed lengthy gulps of air as if he had stayed underwater for too long. Color soon went back to his cheeks, and he was glaring at everyone with renewed energy, daring them to say anything.

It dawned on her.

"Motion sickness?"

He fixed his glare on her, but Mayura was unimpressed. She patted his shoulder.

He averted his eyes and spat "Aren't we going?", walking away without looking at her.

But something told her he appreciated the gesture.

* * *

"So, Rokuro, did you get a word back to that idol agency?"

Mayura's nervousness had returned now that they were here- the temple. Except under the temple. They had climbed down a long staircase and ended up in an enormous underground room.

Their trio (Ikaruga, Rokuro and her) seemed to be the only teenagers around. The rest of them were adults.

Intimidating, important-looking adults in strange clothing she labelled as exorcist clothes. She had thought she had at least glimpsed them all, but she'd been wrong.

Actually, she had the distinctive feeling that she was the only non exorcist around. She would have stuck to people she knew, but Ikaruga had stubbornly marched onto the center of the room. That had prompted Rokuro to follow him, and thus, of course, so had she.

"Yeah, I got a letter from the agency." Mayura smiled, but her mind was elsewhere. If it wasn't about dad, then why did she have anything to do with this?

"I got rejected…"

Mayura focused back on her best friend. "Oh… They're just blind to your qualities! I'm sure you'll find something you'll be awesome at, Rokuro!" She playfully punched the air, erasing her worries behind hollow cheerfulness, and her wild-haired friend gave a poor smile. "They're just a bunch of scholastic deaf knights!" Rokuro's smile widened and he chuckled.

"Thanks, Mayura. You're always there to cheer me up. I don't know what I'd do without you..."

The young girl tried to subdue the heat settling in her cheeks. "O-Of course! It's my duty as your childhood friend!"

* * *

Shimon snorted. Enmado Rokuro was now officially blind.

He had met Otomi Mayura exactly half an hour ago and he could already see her crush on the red-eyed teen, clear as day. The way she watched and acted around him gave no space for doubt.

He considered nudging the boy in the right direction. Life was too short for oblivious idiots.

Mayura was nice, that much was obvious. She seemed to possess a kind of protectiveness akin to a mother and her kitten. She was undeniably pretty -fluffy blond hair fading into a soft lime green, fair skin. Blue eyes. Long eyelashes.

In conclusion, from what he had seen, she was a perfectly good girl. Enmado Rokuro visibly didn't consider her in a romantic way, but was he oblivious to her feelings? Did he consider himself undeserving? Or, raised with her (if he could trust her mention of childhood friends), did he come to see her as a sister figure?

He was there in his musings when he realized he was starting to play matchmaker. Urgh. Right, it was none of his business. He blamed the novels Chiiko had forced him to read.

A tiny voice in his head suggested also blaming Arima for some reason.

The would-be-couple-if-one-of-them-wasn't-oblivious was now arguing about something- Noodles? What?

He resisted the urge to shake his head, too aware that he hadn't completely recovered from the car trip. Stupid motion sickness.

Shimon decided to look through the room instead. He was fairly sure he had met everyone here at least once, at meetings. Mostly old mainland exorcist heads, apparently. They hadn't recognized him. The self-important "leaders" (as if they held any power on the island…) were often either hypocritically fawning over those who had talent, and dismissive of so-called everyday youngsters. That worked in his favor today, although he was a bit weirded out to be put in the second group, for once. He supposed hanging out with the two kids in tow had helped.

He spotted a short person with dark purple hair in the sea of adults. Only mostly then. As expected, she was of the first group. He saw a couple of silver-haired silhouettes bend in two, and held back a sigh.

"Enmado, Otomi? May I interrupt the lover's spat?"

He felt an odd satisfaction upon the teens' flushed cheeks and blamed it on his lack of general free time. Yes, maybe Arima-sama was right. He definitely needed that vacation.

"Mayura's like my sister, Ikaruga!"

Rokuro missed her pained look altogether.

Outwardly, Shimon ignored it. Inwardly… he was passively annoyed. But that wasn't the subject.

"If I'm not wrong, the girl over there is the same age as you. I think her name is Adashino Benio."

* * *

Benio didn't smile.

She was quiet, polite, as was expected of her. She didn't really know why they all had to come from all over Japan for this -in this tiny town that held nothing in particular, except a painful past… An announcement, that was all she knew. What kind of announcement required the entirety of the Mainland's top exorcists? She had come as head of the Adashino house in Kyoto, but the letter included a handwritten note stating that she could visit her brother's grave, and a map.

Being personally written to by Tsuchimikado Arima wasn't anything she had _liked,_ despite the "honor"... she had an intense dislike for the man- to be more exact, she didn't trust him. Benio wasn't sure why.

It was a kind of gut feeling.

But he was her superior, so she had to go. She left all plans in Kyoto and let adults all at least thrice her age greet and praise her with empty words. At least, the note was right, she would be able to visit the grave...

But now, she was completely, absolutely bored. Not to mention a little hungry.

"Adashino Benio?"

She almost jolted. Not because her name was called out for the thousandth time since the beginning of the day, but because the voice was young.

She turned around. Three teenagers around her age were bravely crossing the crowd toward her.

The first one, who had called out, was a short boy her age with messy black hair and red eyes. He bore a large, enthusiastic smile.

The second one was a girl of similar age, or maybe older, if her… development… was any indication. She looked clearly uneasy, throwing looks to the sides while stalking close to the friendly boy who had known her name. She was almost clinging on him and had shoulder-length blond and green hair that bounced off each step, just like another part of her anatomy.

The third person was a taller red-haired boy, and visibly older. He maintained a carefully laid back attitude, although his stare on the couple of teens was intense. He only followed two steps behind. She was sure she had seen him somewhere…

She frowned slightly, trying to remember. He briefly turned his head to the side and she caught sight of a pair of chromed headphones. As he got closer, she recognized a pair of pale blue eyes.

She spoke once they were within hearing range. With the constant overbearing background noise, that meant about a meter and half.

The features were unmistakable. She'd only seen him once or twice at meetings, but he was hard to forget, being one of her topmost superior and all.

"You're… Ikaruga Shimon?"

The first boy's smile faltered a bit, but she didn't pay attention, focusing on the Heavenly Commander instead.

"Yes. Don't talk too loud, it looks like they didn't recognize me, somehow." He wasn't hushing, but the background noise made up for it, making him almost hard to hear from a meter away. "I would rather not be mobbed."

Perhaps his presence was too incongruous to be a possibility for most of the audience.

Another old man tapped her shoulder to demand her attention. She was about to indulge him, when the red-eyed one of the trio grabbed her wrist and forcefully pulled her nearer the wall… and him.

"Enmado Rokuro at your rescue! You belong with the younger assembly, Adashino Benio! Enough with old men!"

The other two followed, one sighing and blazé, the other apologizing quickly to the man she inadvertently turned down before catching up with them. The four of them gathered on the edge of the hall. Benio had to ignore a few glares. The shortest boy was still holding her wrist.

"I'm Otomi Mayura." Otomi looked nervous. "It's nice to meet you, Adashino-san."

"I'm Enmado Rokuro~"

She took back her wrist, acknowledged the girl with a nod, and carefully ignored the friendly boy.

"Why are you ignoring me?!"

She didn't show any outward sign of having heard him, instead sweeping the assembly. When would the meeting start?

"Mayura! Ikaruga! Help me here! Why is she ignoring me?"

She glared at "Enmado Rokuro" to stop his whining, and settled her gaze back to the girl… Otomi.

"I didn't need… saving."

She hoped her tone was convincing.

None of them ever got to answer anything, because at this moment, a loud, happy-sounding voice echoed throughout the room, startling the four of them.

Tsuchimikado Arima was talking, of course.

* * *

"HEY EVERYONE, SORRY FOR THE WAIT!"

Mayura immediately recognized the voice from the phone. She was more confused when Rokuro shouted "PERVERT UNDERWEAR MAN!" and Ikaruga smacked him on the head without granting him a glance, probably by reflex.

"IT'S THE HEAD OF THE EXORCISTS, TSUCHIMIKADO ARIMA! I THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE TRIP HERE!"

...the… head of the exorcists? And he asked her to come personally?

That was when Mayura noticed her grandfather behind him. She had a bad feeling.

"THERE IS ONLY ONE REASON I GATHERED YOU ALL HERE! TODAY, I'VE BROUGHT VE~RY HAPPY, SUPER DUPER BIG NEWS FOR EVERYONE! YA~Y!"

Mayura glanced at the other teens. Rokuro looked suspicious, Adashino seemed loosely curious, and Ikaruga…

Ikaruga's face was stiff, expressing no emotion, but his fists were clenched.

It comforted her in her feelings… This was unusual.

"FROM A DIVINATION I PERFORMED A FEW DAYS EARLIER, I RECEIVED WONDERFUL NEWS FROM THE HEAVENS… ACCORDING TO THIS REVELATION, THE LONG BATTLE BETWEEN US AND THE IMPURITIES, WILL FINALLY! FINALLY FINALLY!"

He paused half a second for the suspense, before "finally" letting the cat out of the bag…

"COME TO AN END!"

...sort of.

How would it come to an end, exactly? Was one of them the chosen one who would have to settle on journey, meet True Companions that may or may not be referred to as nakama (among whom there would be at least one tsundere of sorts), endure training from hell, fight enemies of suspiciously escalating difficulty, and ultimately destroy Magano in an epic showdown of awesomeness and heroic speeches?

She was pretty sure she had seen some variation of that plot in a shonen manga or two. Or five. Or at least half of them, really. Well, this wasn't a manga.

She almost chuckled, and noticed the silence in the hall. Had she missed something?

What had he said while she tuned him out?

"I WAS, AS YOU COULD SAY, "HALF-SURPRISED" BY THE RESULTS… BUT THERE IS NO DOUBT! THE FIRST… IKARUGA SHIMON-KUN, IF YOU COULD COME AND STAND ON THE STAGE?"

The interested individual froze completely, remaining absolutely still as his eyes widened. Actually, his face was the only thing that moved, while all eyes were drawn to him like magnets to a fridge.

An unnamed emotion flashed across his face just as murmurs erupted all around the hall. She only caught a few of them-

"I noticed he was an Ikaruga, but he's THE Ikaruga Shimon?"

"How powerful is he going to be, now? If he can increase his enchanted gear power with that power..."

"Isn't he only 16? There's no doubt to have on his skill."

-but they were enough to be mildly concerning.

She briefly squeezed his arm, and he jerked his head at her, surprised.

"You'll be fine, go."

Those were just words, she knew. But they were enough. Stiffly, like an robot, Ikaruga obeyed. He slowly crossed the hall, the crowd parting in front of him. She looked at her feet.

"AS FOR THE IDENTITY OF THE SECOND TWIN STAR… "

Would he be okay? She wasn't sure about what was going on, but he was… livid… Whoever that other person was, she didn't envy them.

She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and discreetly picked it up. It was her mother..! Had she not found her note?

She was surprised to have any signal underground. Thus, it was not one that the call disconnected almost immediately. She pocketed her phone again, hoping that no one had thought she was being rude. She'd call back as soon as the meeting was over.

Someone poked her -Rokuro- and she looked at the stage just in time to see her grandfather collapse.

After a couple seconds of stillness, people started murmuring again. She couldn't see her grandfather anymore… Was he okay? No one seemed alarmed, though, and he got back up quickly. The relief washed over her and she realized she missed the other person's name.

She looked around, waiting for someone to step out. No one did. She suppose that was what the hushes all around were about.

She glanced at her remaining two companions, meaning to ask them who it was, but Rokuro beat her to it.

His tone was uneasy.

"I don't really know what's going on, but… shouldn't you… you know… step up now?"

Mayura froze.


	3. 3: The Silence of Magano

**G-Guess who's not dead. Yeeepeee.**

 **To be fair, I'm graduating next year and these first weeks were hell. Also, I had little inspiration for this recently...**

 **I hope you have more fun reading that chapter than I had writing it.**

 **That means better than being in pain, sweat, tears, blood and butter.**

* * *

 _"AS FOR THE IDENTITY OF THE SECOND TWIN STAR…"_

* * *

Shimon's mind had been one big scream for several seconds: AAAAAAAAAAAAH!

That had been his first thought, after Arima-sama called out his name.

The second thought had been "I'm never going to hear the end of it from Chiiko."

His third, "Will I even be allowed back on the island? Will I remain a Heavenly Commander?"

His fourth had been slightly more optimistic, but it was a somewhat dangerous thought. A treacherously appealing suggestion.

"If my child is the Miko, then… I can really end the war soon enough to save Chiiko."

The fifth thought had been a simple follow up that almost made his cheeks redden enough to reach his hair color.

The sixth thought had been something he should've asked himself in the first place- But who's the other person?

As if on cue, Mayura had gently squeezed his arm. He'd jerked his head toward her.

Her face didn't express pity, but compassion and... encouragement?

"You'll be fine. Go."

Go. Yes. He had to go on the stage.

His mind numb, he had walked forward. Arima had no comforting word, but a little smirk.

* * *

Mayura was confused by this turn of events.

She wasn't an exorcist. She was the daughter and granddaughter of one, granted, but she knew (one of the) only reasons she hadn't been raised like one was to keep her away from danger. Dad wanted her to be safe and far from the battle, and she'd respected that, even if it pained her to be unable to do anything but cheer and cry on the sidelines.

She had been afraid, of course, for him and for her friends and all those fighting, but Impurities and exorcism had always been kept far, like a risk rather than a mortal danger lurking on the edges of her vision. It had been far, so she hadn't insisted. It was dangerous. It wasn't her world, not really.

Until today, apparently.

She looked down on the crowd from the stage. She struggled to put names on her emotions. Nervous. Scared. Apprehensive?

In any case, she was agitated. She tried not to fidget too much, overly conscious of everyone's gazes.

Ikaruga was stiff like a rock. He'd been pale, too pale when she stepped up. He had just been staring into space, the blood drained from his face.

The Head of the exorcists, (What was his name again?) poked his shoulder and whispered something. Ikaruga had looked at her, reddened, and looked away again.

That wasn't overly helpful.

What exactly did being a "Twin Star Exorcist" mean?

Arima was very happy to answer that question.

* * *

Rokuro's mouth hanged open. He was gobsmacked.

Mayura? A kid? To… to that stupid redhead chicken?

What?

"It... could have been...worse," said the black-haired girl who hadn't moved from his side. "It could have been… us."

He wasn't sure if he should feel offended.

"Why do you hate me so much, Benio Adashino?! We met five minutes ago!" He raised his hands into the air, eyes still fixed on the stage.

Simultaneously, he tried to glare Pervert Underwear Man into next Monday from across the room. Unfortunately, it seemed that he was a little too far.

"I didn't need… saving!"

Maybe he should catch up to Mayura. She was bound to be lost in that kind of ridiculous situation. They may not be blood-related, but she was like a sister! Well, Ryougo and Rokuro weren't blood-related either, and there was no one else he could call his own older brother...

Who cares about blood.

"Fine! You didn't." He shook his head and consented to look at Adashino. "Move on."

She scrunched up her nose slightly, and glared at him.

"I just thought you'd rather enjoy our company! Guess I was wrong!" Rokuro looked back at the stage. He would've already thundered off if it wasn't for her.

"What makes you think… I'd rather be in your company?"

Rokuro sighed without looking at her. Ah, Pervert underwear Man had called off the meeting, and they were climbing down from the stage. "Because I know I'd rather chat with a cute girl like you than a bunch of old men."

He didn't understand why she kicked him.

* * *

"I'm certain, Mayura-chaaaan~" Arima smiled, way too cheerful to Shimon's liking. "Your name was the one the oracle told me. Since you aren't an exorcist exactly, it did take a while for me to find you, though~"

His voice cooled down several degrees. Shimon knew this tone, and he had never liked it. Usually, it meant that the next sentence would be unpleasant to hear.

"I do not get to decide these things. Perhaps were you fated to become an exorcist, Mayura-chan."

You know more about her circumstances than you are letting on, Arima-sama.

Mayura was from an exorcist family. Was there a special reason why she wasn't one? Was that what his superior implied?

Something was bothering him in that sentence. Was there an undertone of reprobation..?

Arima glanced at something over the blonde's shoulder. They were level with everyone else, now, so the Heavenly Commander wasn't sure who he was looking at. Despite that, none of the spectators approached them, murmuring and heading for the exits instead.

"The ways of the heavens are mysterious. This is your destiny, accept it."

Fate. Destiny.

Shimon didn't like these words much. Not like this.

Prettier words for burden, they were. They had ruined his little sister's life. Were they going to ruin his too?

"Well, look at Shimon-kun~" Shimon snapped out of his thoughts, the return of the cheer setting off mental alarms, "He isn't complaining at all~!"

Arima Tsuchimikado winked.

Shimon felt his cheeks redden, mortified. Nevertheless, he tried to keep a composed attitude.

Calm and composed. He could freak out later, in private. He was Suzaku, the Heavenly Commander. Heavenly Commanders didn't yell at their superiors. They didn't run away screaming or bounce on walls in shame. They didn't curl up into a ball over impromptu arranged marriages.

He opened his mouth to give a cool and composed reply, but a traitorous, painful punch to his spine sent him stumbling forward.

"YOU PERVERT ROOSTER! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING OF DOING TO MAYURA?!"

Enmado. Rokuro.

Shimon snapped.

* * *

Shimon would later regret throwing a hissy fit and an impromptu yelling contest against the sharp-teethed teenage boy.

In private, his thoughts on the matter oscillated between "ashamed" and "worth it".

* * *

Mayura decided to go home in the middle of the testosterone-filled argument. She knew her way around well enough, since she went to that temple every year.

Once the blonde was safely home, she collapsed onto the couch and stayed there.

Married. Her. At fourteen? To an older guy she barely knew? An exorcist? She was too young to have children! Much less children who would save the world! Her thoughts swirled over and over in her head, unable to be processed just yet. Just like some kind of overheated summer dream, it was too odd to make sense.

A little traitorous voice at the back of her head noted that she wouldn't have objected much, had it been Rokuro.

Mayura told it to politely shut up.

An eternity or two later, she sat up. Why hadn't her mother asked her what was wrong yet? Did she not hear her come in? Mayura could use some hugs right about now. Or was her mother out?

Mayura leaned on the backrest, closed her eyes and listened.

She was one of those people who could clearly pick out conversations on the other side of a house. Or a lone mosquito in the room at night. As long as no loud background noise hindered her, she had no trouble hearing the inevitable presence-betraying noises, especially in a house she had always lived in.

...as far as she could remember, at least.

A light buzz that had to be the fridge... A creak, the wooden floor upstairs… She tuned the familiar sounds out.

Her home turned up absolutely silent and she leaped off the couch.

Frantically began looking.

Everything was in order. The living room was spotless. The kitchen was also clean. Her stomach reminded her that she had only eaten a couple of fruits today. Later. There was no one in the bathroom, either.

She climbed the steps two by two. No one in her bedroom. Her parents' bedroom, also empty. Nothing in the second bathroom. Not even in the study.

She was alone in the house.

That… her mother wouldn't be out at two, unless she had to leave early for some reason. She would've called!

...called…

Mayura climbed back down the stairs more carefully. Right. She had tried to call earlier, hadn't she? In all that agitation, Mayura had forgotten. Right. Right! No problem. It was still early. It was odd, but not alarming. That ridiculous story was making her paranoid.

She grabbed her phone, checking for messages. No vocal messages, but she had a text.

 **Something turned up. Probably won't be back before a few days. Don't know if you'll be able to contact me.**  
 **Love, Mom**

...uh. That was just her luck.

The timing was suspicious, too.

Well, it wasn't like she could do anything about it…

Her stomach rumbled and she set off to cook herself a late lunch.

* * *

There hadn't been that much tension at the Seika dorm since two years ago, when Rokuro refused to speak to anyone at all. When he'd just stare into space and burst out crying and wouldn't be able to explain why, and Ryougo could do nothing, except hold the young boy in his arms and rub comforting circles in his back.

Ryougo shook his head, unwilling to think about those dark times, and warily watched the glaring boys he had forcefully dragged back home.

Shinnosuke and Atsushi had retreated to eat in their room, and the surrogate grandfather of the dorm-mates had disappeared off somewhere with a old, short woman who he understood was named Kinu.

It was now up to him to extinguish the sparks between his little brother and the Heavenly Commander.

If he was perfectly honest, the story sounded surreal. Mayura? Their almost-sister? The eternal smiler who couldn't insult someone to save her life, married to the grumpy boy they had met just yesterday?

In the end, they hadn't even been able to talk it out privately, since Mayura left in the middle of the boy's argument. She must have felt even worst.

It hadn't been as much of an argument as it was Rokuro screaming at Shimon that he was Mayura's brother and wouldn't let him do "ecchi stuff" to her. Something about his discourse had ticked off the redhead enough to yell back that he hadn't chosen any of this, Rokuro was a blind idiot, and they had gone on and on and on until he knocked their heads together.

They had spent the ride back glaring out of the window (Shimon) and mumbling darkly (Rokuro). After staggering back out of car, Shimon had sequestrated himself into his room until dinner, but Rokuro kept glaring ever since.

Ryougo sighed.

Whatever was going through the Commander's head, now that the two were back in the same room again?

* * *

What was going through Shimon's head, at the moment, was a long, long sigh.

He was doubly annoyed.

First, he was annoyed because Rokuro was acting like a protective, stubborn older brother. (Was he even older than Otomi?)

Second, he was annoyed because he would've acted the same in reverse positions. If Rokuro and Chiiko had been the twin stars? He'd have gotten nuts too, though her being seven years younger than the teen glaring at him would have justified it plenty. Mayura was not a child. Well… not much of one.

From what he understood he was older than Mayura, but two years were negligible, right?

Either way, the other boy was angry, and rightfully so. However, it wouldn't do to have him constantly angry at Shimon. It was already grating on his nerves, but he had to stay calm.

You're older, Shimon. Be mature.

Right. Mature. What was the adult thing to do?

He sighed again. Responsible, mature, he chanted inwardly.

"I can understand why you're yelling at me, you know." Shimon started and paused, hesitant. "I can imagine my reaction if this happened to my younger sister."

"Sister?" Rokuro was momentarily caught off guard asks stopped glaring. He appeared curious.

* * *

 _"My sister is… sick… She cannot leave our home. When she heard I was coming to this city, she asked me to take pictures of everything. I'm doing that. Leave, if it annoys you."_

* * *

"Ikaruga Sayo, my younger sister. She's actually my cousin," Shimon amended, "but we were raised together."

As he spoke, Shimon grabbed his camera. He always had it with him, strapped around his neck. "She's the one I'm taking these pictures for… If I bring an end to Magano. If I end the thousand years war. It'll all be for her sake."

He flipped through his photos until he reached the very first one, a happy-looking little girl posing on the threshold of an old-fashioned house. She couldn't be older than ten. Her hair was the same color as her older brother's, barely reaching her shoulders. Right before Shimon took his camera back, Rokuro realized she had tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I can't tell you the details, but… I told you she was sick. It's because of Magano's very existence. Despite that… She's always trying to smile…"

 _Despite that, and how unfairly short her life will be..._

"...you seem to love Sayo-chan very much," Rokuro noted.

"I do."

Shimon sighed, realizing that they were going off-topic. Back on track. He was almost wincing in advance at what he was about to say.

"In fact, if the Miko can truly save the world and destroy Magano, then it would be a very tempting solution to her... predicament."

Rokuro bristled, but before he could start yelling again, Shimon continued, his words spilling faster. "I had no idea we were the Twin Stars when I came to this town, and I wasn't thinking about doing anything presumptuous to your… To Otomi-san. In fact, I don't think I am capable of raising a child right now, especially if I don't know the mother at all. I'm sixteen, Enmado. I can't even do anything without Otomi's approval. I won't take the easiest path and ignore my morals so easily. You don't have to worry about having a godchild anytime soon. Besides..."

He sighed. Again. He was so tired right now.

"She is a civilian, and I will understand if she refuses to get involved with the whole thing. Even if her grandfather is an exorcist, she isn't concerned directly..."

Shimon stopped to think on how to express his thoughts properly. Rokuro had let him speak, which meant he was considering his words seriously.

...probably.

"I wanted to end the war way before this whole... thing... cropped up. Miko or not, I will get rid Magano. It's my dream, so to say."

"...You can't hang onto dreams forever, you know," Rokuro eventually said, too quiet. "You will probably die before Magano is anywhere close to being destroyed. If it can be destroyed."

Shimon opened his mouth to say something, but Rokuro beat him to it.

"...though I admit I'd rather that no innocent child is forced to fight due to a dumb prophecy. Children should stay children and only think about playing with their friends."

Shimon had the odd sentiment that he was quoting someone.

Before the redhead could comment on his suddenly dark train of thought, Rokuro stood up and shouted again.

"Don't think what we said just now would stop me from keeping an eye on you and Mayura; got it?!"

Shimon just snorted. If Rokuro wasn't as obliviously thick as he was, he would've realized why his fear was utterly unfounded.

"But…" Rokuro looked to the side. "Thanks. For taking the time to explain to me. I mean it."

He left Shimon in the living room. Ryougo smiled.

* * *

The next day, Rokuro woke up to the other residents of his dorm about to leave on a mission. Surprising as it sounded, he had done all of his homework- break ended on Monday, so he still had two days left. Three if he counted the one that had just begun. Yay.

"Hmm? You're going too, Ikaruga?"

The young commander was wearing a fancy red kariginu. Rokuro had often seen white, and seldom admired black; what did red stand for? Even Seigen didn't have a red one.

"Of course I am. If I don't do anything, I'll only get rusty."

Visibly following Rokuro's line of sight to his unusually colored uniform, he added "My family always wears red. Don't ask me why, it's just a tradition."

Rokuro remembered he wasn't as angry as he had been before, so he decided to loosen up a bit, and grinned.

"You look cool. Like a superhero!"

"...thank you, Enmado…"

"Rokuro," Ryougo said with a teasing smile, "he's married. I know you're worried about Mayura-chan, but flirting and stealing her husband won't do."

Both boys reddened and Rokuro spluttered that he was doing no such thing, it was just a compliment! And he stomped away. Rokuro could still hear them from the corridor, though.

"...that was uncalled for, Ryougo-san." Shimon's voice.

"Sometimes I have doubts. He was pretty close to his dorm-mate until…" Rokuro gritted his teeth. He didn't want to remember the one who'd been among his closest friends… as annoying as he had been. "Rokuro!" He jumped at the sudden mention of his name. "Mayura said she would drop by!"

Rokuro yelled back his acquiescence, and slammed his bedroom door.

* * *

An hour later, Rokuro heard the door slide. He came casually strode back to the living room.

"That was quick- Ryougo? You're hurt?" Rokuro paled.

"He was dragged in Magano, Enmado," Ikaruga confirmed. Dragged in Magano? Like the two kids from last time?

"Lucky he was there," said the injured party while his two friends fussed over him. He tried to ruffle Ikaruga's hair, but he winced when he lifted his arm.

Rokuro was sure there wasn't an ounce of blood left in the flesh of his face.

He could've lost his family.

Just like that. Here one moment, gone the next. While he was looking through the fridge. They could've come back beaten up and death haunting their eyes, and he couldn't have done anything about it. Like Seigen couldn't do anything for him. Like... Like that night.

"Shimon, you're the hero of the day!" Said Atsushi, unbothered by the gravity of the situation. Ryougo could have died and they didn't care?!

"You said you wanted to end the thousand years war and exorcise all the impurities, right?" Ryougo's voice sounded very obnoxious, but Rokuro completely missed the fake tone, focused on his swirling emotions and the pit in his stomach. "I bet you'll manage. You were amazing~! That was Suzaku's enchanted gear, right? Very cool!" he raised his voice. "Maybe Rokuro should see it and how cool it is~"

Rokuro was getting more ticked off by the second. Didn't Ryougo realize he almost died?! How could he act like he had just tripped on the way back from the grocery store?!

"One day, you're a hero," he snarled. "The next, you're dead."

He slammed the door behind him, leaving silence in his wake.

* * *

A lone boy walked the broken land of Magano. He stopped on a the edge of a cliff, watching what could only be described as a carnage below.

"Ah~Aaah. They really made a mess of things."

He turned away. He had come out of curiosity at the display of strength -such were rare on the mainland- but he was too late, of course.

They might show up again, though. That could make for an interesting fight... Ah, maybe local exorcists would know. Hmm.

Yes... He would like to test their strength... But he'd been disappointed too often, lately.

"Why is entertainment so difficult to find?" he complained to no one in particular.

"Give me a break."

* * *

 **And I can now change the summary, yay.**


	4. 3,5: Lovebirds

**And this is... not the new chapter!**

 **It has come to my attention (read: someone sent me an ask) that I'm very slow on updates... which I'm working on...  
But you can have this in the meantime! Isn't that awesome? **

**This takes place between two scenes of chapter 3, so you might want to reread that one.**

* * *

Shimon groaned, spread on a futon in his tiny room of the Seika dorm. His back dug into the covers, and his extended arms brushed the cold floors on both sides.

He usually didn't allow himself to lay down in such a casual manner, but his day had been awful enough.

Him? A twin star? Married to a fourteen-years old?

He groaned again and closed his eyes, still fully dressed as he hadn't bothered changing before flopping down. He vaguely hoped to drift into sleep. What a good occasion to end a bad day.

He didn't really care about dinner. Rokuro was angry at him, anyway, it wouldn't surprise anyone if he didn't show up, right?

This was such a pain. Shimon very much wanted to drop the self-imposed maturity and… no. That wasn't what Seigen-san would do. Seigen-san would endure it without a sign of weakness.

He had resided in this town before. His senior had most likely even dropped by this very dorm when he wasn't in the fallen Hiinatsuki, since both Rokuro and Ryougo knew him. Shimon wondered briefly how well he had known the residents, before brushing it off and concentrating on his own breathing.

He felt himself relax, slowly but surely, as he steadied his respiration-

A creepy laugh startled him out of his skin, which broke out in goosebumps, though the irony was lost on the Vermillion Bird Commander.

His ringtone.

He picked up his phone with one hand. Shimon stacked it against his ear without otherwise moving, not bothering to look at who was calling him.

"Congratulations on your marriage!"

He restrained the overwhelming urge to hang up. He knew that voice oh too well. He gritted his teeth.

"Don't worry, I'm not bothering you for a very long time, hmm? Your old name is outdated. Just notifying you that I'm calling you Lovebird now."

"That's still not my name, Tenma Unomiya."

Shimon was not going to ask how he'd heard about the whole thing so shortly after the primarily concerned party. Arima had probably told the shorter commander, perhaps even before Shimon himself.

"Because names are so important… What's important aren't the names themselves. Names are just words."

Shimon was too tired to point out that Tenma never got _any_ name right, anyway. It was probably on purpose, since he had a viciously good memory for his outrageous nicknames.

"What's important what they represent for you, what you make of them, and what they make of you. Think about it: If the candle is the only light you see, will you let the fire guide you, or guide yourself with its light?"

He could very clearly picture the smirk on his colleague's face… he really didn't feel like untangling his colleague's weird metaphors. Perhaps Tenma felt his annoyance, because he didn't push him further and changed the subject.

"Have you made friends on the mainland, yet?"

Shimon snorted.

"I'm sure you will. You're a nice boy past that cool mask, hmm?"

"What did you want, Unomiya?"

"...can't I just want to say hi to my junior who's gone off to marry on the mainland? And say hi your wife too. I'd like to meet her sometime."

"That's not going to happen. She's a civilian, and you're stuck on the island." He added "and we aren't married!" a little too late.

"If you say so, Lovebird number one." Shimon heard some background noise on the other side of the line, but couldn't make out what was being said. It sounded like "chestnuts". "I need to go. Take care, hmm~?"

The call was cut off before he could answer.

 _Have you made friends on the mainland, yet?_

"Shimon-chan!" Atsushi's voice. He grimaced. What was this luck with nicknames today? Why _chan_ anyway? Maybe if he pulled rank on him... He couldn't that with Unomiya, but it should be worth a try with regular exorcists. "Dinner's ready, please come out while it's warm! We'll tie up Rokuro if you want!"

...friends…

He supposed it wouldn't do to keep fighting with Rokuro… Maybe he should try to settle things with the stubborn idiot?

"I'm coming."

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed that little extra.**

 **As I know that i'm not always the clearest of writers, please don't hesitate to ask questions about what's going on!**

 **Or -guess what?- if you want to know about something that happened in between scenes, like this, let me know, and I might as well do it next time I take a long time to update! The biggest obstacle to me updating fast is lack of motivation, actually. Every time I get a review or a like, it warms my heart... Thank you, anon, for sending me that ask on tumblr, you actually managed to get me moving! Woohoo! An ovation to anon!**

 **Do note however, politeness doesn't hurt. I need to juggle between this, a bunch of other stuff I write or draw, getting dragged off on walks, schoolwork and life in general. A little "please" won't hurt. I'm totally not glaring at you, Mihawk 4. I'm sighing. Cough. Thank you for reviewing, but "oi update" is kiiiind of rude. Just saying. How about you tell me more about what you liked so I know what you're looking forward to so much? :)**

 **So, yeah! Don't hesitate to ask me stuff, via pm or review or otherwise. Always happy to chat.**


	5. 4: Doth that bode weeping?

**WAAAH I didn't take a month since the last (half?) update. Yay!  
** **I'm planning to do extra chapters regularly- don't forget to suggest stuff you'd like to see!**

 **Only two criteria I'll like you to follow:**

 **-It has to be during or before (waaay before is fine) the last chapter. Basically I'm not giving you glimpses of the future since... you know, spoiler?**

 **-T rated or less (no lemons sorry folks :P)**

 **They will _not_ be necessary to read, but might give hints regarding future plot points and/or insight into some character's heads. **

**They will also be a great deal more carefree.**

 **In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter! it took quite some time to write, lots of things ended up scrapped or redone...  
** **...but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I hope you will be, too.**

 **If you're wondering about the timeline, this is still the day Ryougo was attacked.**

* * *

" _One day, you're a hero. The next, you're dead."_

 _Rokuro slammed the door behind him, leaving silence in his wake._

* * *

When Mayura rung the Seika dorm's bell, she didn't expect the atmosphere to be so gloomy.

"H-Hello everyone…"

 _Did something happen?_

She wasn't sure how she could tell… But there was definitely something heavy in the air. All curtains were open, but the light that filtered into the room lacked the vividness of a May afternoon. The colors looked tired and drained, just like the room's only occupant.

He was lying down on the couch. "Ryougo-san? Are you… hurt?"

"Oh, Mayura." He sat up to leave her space and and she plopped down to his left, putting her bag down in front of her feet. "Don't worry, I'll be healed soon. The spell is just taking its time."

Right. The spell. Exorcist things, of course.

She nodded. She honestly felt nervous- Ikaruga-san should be somewhere in here, right? Her… husband… fiancé?

Even after a night, it was a little difficult to swallow. It hadn't helped that she hadn't been able to contact her mother at all.

She was glad she didn't have to see him just yet. She would've liked to see Rokuro, but… She was pretty sure she would've been heard from anywhere in the house, so he had probably gone on a walk. Her grandfather didn't seem to be home, either.

Well… She was just going to wait, then.

The silence stretched between the young adult and the teen. Mayura started to fidget, twiddling with her charm.

Silence felt strange in this place. With five people and no female presence, it was noisy more often than not… Yes, it was an eery atmosphere when no noise disturbed them, boding nothing good for the future.

"Did something happen?"

Ryougo hummed sadly, his posture down to a slouch and his face twisted in a grimace.

"It's my fault… I'm such an idiot."

"...was it Rokuro?" She put a reassuring hand on his arm, speaking softly. "You know… If he said something to you, he doesn't mean it. He loves you very much. You are his one and only older brother."

"...thank you."

He gave a sad smile. "It's not something he said… to me, though. I think I just upset him… Really badly." He gritted his teeth. "Dammit. I should know his triggers by now… Maybe I've been taking his trauma too lightly, pushing him into exorcism like that..."

Mayura rubbed his arm.

 _Yes, you did, he's safer like this, leaving everything to adults. He's not an exorcist anymore and he never should have been. He's a kid._

 _No! I want the old Rokuro back too… He's not truly living as he is now. I miss his smile. I miss his passion. I miss the hope in his eyes._

She couldn't trust herself to say the right thing, so she stayed silent.

"Everyone went out for a walk, I think. I guess they needed a bit of air after this morning…"

"Did Ikaruga-san and Rokuro fight again?" She tried to smile, but she was quite sure that it looked fake.

"Hmm? No, that was resolved. Surprisingly, it was a… mostly mature conversation. They grow up so fast." He chuckled. "I figured I'd stay here, since I'm not supposed to walk around too much. Sorry you had to come in with only me home… I guess you wanted to see your husband?"

"We're n-not married or anything!" Oh god he could have cooked an egg on her cheeks. "I've barely ever talked to him!"

Ryougo patted her head with his good hand. "Don't worry, Mayura. I'm just teasing you."

 _Click-clack._

Mayura tilted her head to listen. "Someone's home." She stood up, if only to be polite. Maybe they should turn on the light. For a minute she could have thought they were in November, rather than May. Why was the light so low? Was a storm coming?

Soft footsteps.

"I'm back." Shoeless, Ikaruga Shimon strode in the living room in his sockets, headphones around his neck.

He came to a stop when he noticed Mayura standing.

She came to examine the carpet.

...it was a nice carpet. Its shades were muted by the gloomy ambiance, but it was a nice… carpet…

...awkward…

"...Otomi Mayura."

Startled, she whipped back up to him to find piercing blue eyes staring at her.

"Y-Yes?"

"...I believe we have things to discuss."

She repeated her monosyllabic response in a slightly more affirmative tone.

They still didn't move. Mayura shifted her weight from one foot to another.

...such a nice a carpet.

Ryougo coughed. "Don't mind me. The couch isn't very comfortable, I'll just go back to my room."

He left, staggering a bit, but Mayura felt a little too caught up to help him. She kept a watchful eye out until he disappeared from view and closed the door behind him, just in case he stumbled and fell.

She went back to examining her hus… Ikaruga Shimon. He had been watching the door, too. Perhaps he felt guilty over Ryougo's injuries?

"Maybe we could sit on the couch?" She suggested, unsure of how to break the ice.

He hummed and so they sat on the couch.

It was still awkward.

"...Otomi-san."

"Y-Yes?" She wanted to smack herself on the head. He was going to think her vocabulary was severely limited. Not that she wanted to make a particularly good impression. This story was ridiculous. There was no way he'd become her husband overnight like that! No, no.

He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, rinse and repeat. He probably felt just as awkward as she did, she realized.

She heard him sigh. "I apologize."

"What for?"

"You are a civilian. You should not have been brought into this… matter. You should be allowed to live your life- if you do not wish to…" he paused, readjusted his scarf, and she was pretty sure that he was blushing. The eery blandness of the atmosphere made it somewhat difficult to prove, however.

"...if you do not wish to _associate_ with me…" he decided, "I will understand… I won't blame you for it."

She was about to answer, but he held a hand up to stop her.

"Please..."

She nodded and gulped. Perhaps she dreaded what was coming a little bit. What if he suddenly proposed to her or something equally weird?

She told her stupid imagination to stop jumping to conclusions.

A tiny inner voice still mourned the fact that it had to be the red haired boy, instead of the red-eyed one.

Once again, she stomped it down.

"I… You must understand that the Miko is said to be able to save the world. A lot of people, including Arima-sama, are putting their hopes into the Twin Stars and the Miko."

She nodded.

"You have every right to refuse to see me ever again… but for the sake of that hope…" He gritted his teeth, as if it physically pained him to say those words. "Will you give me a chance, Otomi Mayura?"

…at least he didn't kneel…

She breathed out slowly, giving herself some time to think.

A world without exorcism?

A world where Rokuro would have nothing to fear? A world where her father wouldn't need to stay away? A world with no shadows lurking on the edges of her vision?

Was she so selfish, to refuse him the achievement of what had been Rokuro's dream over something as trivial as..?

"O-Okay." Her word was a hush, and her cheeks were a blush.

"Really?" He seemed surprised, as if he'd expected her to refuse- had he hoped that she would back out?

Strangely, that thought filled her with a little confidence. She wasn't so weak! She could help Rokuro in her own way…!

"Yes. Okay." This time, her voice didn't waver.

She could help Rokuro…! by… uuuh…

They were alone… Sitting together… On a couch… _Alone…_

Her newfound courage fled back where it had come from.

"B-But not now!" She blurted out. "I mean the b-ba… the wedding thing… we should get to know each other first…"

He was definitely blushing, now. "O-Of course! Of course. T-There's no need to rush so much. Y-You're fourteen years old, you're young and…" he clamped his mouth shut, probably to stop himself before he said something he'd regret.

...he was just as embarrassed as she was. The thought made her smile a little bit. Maybe he wasn't every bit the cool and mature guy he tried to be, eh. She tried very hard not to chuckle as the nervous tension left her muscles.

They remained as they were, each staring at their knees.

"Friends," he finally said.

"Uh?"

"Let's be… friends?" He looked at her, though he didn't meet her eyes. He sounded tentative, and perhaps a little tired.

She smiled.

"Okay. Friends. Let's start by becoming friends."

He smiled back. 

* * *

Benio ran into Rokuro in front of the Seika dorm.

That's how Kinu, her caretaker, had called it. She wanted to catch up with an old friend, she had said, and Benio followed.

He had appeared in a very bad mood, although it was early in the afternoon still.

He glowered when he saw her. She glared.

The old man -Kinu's friend- appeared behind him. He'd addressed her with a slow voice, eyes shimmering sadly behind ridiculous glasses.

"So you're late Yuuto-kun's sister?"

That had jolted the boy out of his skin. He'd whipped his head towards her, repeating the last few words.

She had nodded slowly, unwilling to speak for no reason.

"I know this is two years late, but you have my condolences. I was his instructor once… I…" The old man took a deep breath. "I suppose you want to visit the grave… Rokuro, why don't you show her the cemetery?"

She had noticed him clenching and unclenching his fists, before agreeing.

They set off.

"Before you try to ask, I'm not an exorcist."

She had been surprised by that, but he didn't elaborate. She concluded he must have lacked the talent to become one, despite visibly coming from an exorcist family. (He was the Twin Star's family, right? And from what she understood, "Mayura Otomi" was that old man's granddaughter? They had a different last name, though... Perhaps they were cousins?)

He hadn't spoken a word while they walked, after that. They took the bus, but even then his only words were "The next stop." And "Let's go." She had no room to disapprove, however.

And here they were. Finally.

"The grave should be somewhere over there."

His voice brought Benio back to the present.

The cemetery was well kept, but quite poorly lit for May. There were so many graves. So, so many.

Benio squinted, trying to find the one she was looking for. She probed her heart for a clench, her gut for an intuition, but her mind reasoned that she would not supernaturally know where it was.

"Why aren't you… coming with me?"

"I can't. You go ahead."

"You knew them… didn't you?"

Rokuro hesitated. He opened his mouth wide, but closed it halfway, and answered a very quiet "yes".

"Then you have... every right…"

"I'm alive and they're dead," he stated bluntly. "I don't have the right to anything."

 _I'm alive and they're dead._

Those words rang familiar in Benio's head.

She did not know if her heart ached in remembrance or empathy.

"Rokuro Enmado…" she instinctively reached out, but held off actually touching him. "I…" _How does one say this?_ "My parents are dead, but I am alive."

She absentmindedly noticed her nails dug in the soft flesh of her left palm. She didn't bother unclenching her fist.

"I know it is difficult… to live with that kind of guilt..." _I have been through this…_ "But they wouldn't want you to hold off visiting their grave… for the sin of being alive. You have done nothing… worth blaming yourself for."

 _But I have. My parents could be alive if I had been stronger… Nii-sama wouldn't have been sent here…_

 _Everyone would be alive if it hadn't been for me..._

 _I will avenge your friends. I will avenge my brother's friends. I will avenge my parents._

 _I will build a world where such tragedies are no more. I will destroy Magano. That is my resolve._

 _My atonement._

"...quite a few people told me I wasn't to blame." His voice shook her out of her thoughts. It was a little hoarse.

She could hear the familiar words he didn't say.

 _They said I wasn't to blame, but I can't believe them._

"Whether or not… we are to blame… remembering and honoring the dead is the best we can do."

 _...and we can avenge them. It isn't your fight, however. You are not a warrior. I am._

 _I will do it… for you too, then. You who suffered like I did._

"…you should get some alone time with your brother's memory." His expression lifted a bit. "I'll come back another time." Hers fell a little. "Maybe we could come back together… I guess you'd like to hear about your brother?" his eyes grew distant, as if he was watching something long gone. His face twitched. "We could... remember together. I could tell you… about the rest of them, too."

Was it her, or did the sun shine a little brighter?

She didn't smile, not really. "I wouldn't… mind that."

Not _really._ But it came close.

She began looking for the grave of Hiinatsuki. 

* * *

Rokuro didn't know what he'd tell her.

 _Your brother was a traitor. I'm the one who killed everyone whose name is engraved on the grave you seek. I'm a murderer and so was your brother._

But he was humming softly, hands in his pockets.

 _Maybe I should apologize? No, she wouldn't know what I'm apologizing for. And I can't tell her that Yuuto turned everyone into impurities… She would probably just pound my face in if I said the truth. Maybe I can just talk about the good times._

The good times were tainted by the darkness of that fateful night, but he'd been able to recount it just fine when he showed Ikaruga around. He didn't flinch anymore, when he spoke their names. He could almost see their faces without blood and his _monstrous arm tearing them apart and the scream, the laughter and the screams…_

He shook his head to clear it. Yeah, almost.

Well, it was different if he was talking to a stranger, but...

But maybe… Maybe he would really get better?

Little by little. On step at a time.

He walked home much happier than he had left it. 

* * *

"How are the preparations going?"

"Well, Arima-sama. Everything will be ready tomorrow."

The leader of the exorcist union smirked eerily. The phone light was the only thing illuminating his hotel room, as the curtains were closed. The glowing numbers on top of the screen read "11:45 PM".

"The new Twin Stars…" the voice started again. It was deformed by the electronic device, but undeniably sounded female.

"Their identities were quite… unexpected."

Arima answered with a slight slur in his voice. "What do you want to say?"

"...we can't keep Seigen Amawaka in the dark forever. The news already spread like wildfire here."

"You think he would kill Shimon over it?" Arima seemed surprised. "He may be a father, but he's a softie. It should be fiiiine~! Especially with his pupil."

"...probably… but what you did with his wife will _not_ please him."

"I couldn't have her interfere this early on, could I? Yukari Otomi is quite fierce. She tamed a tiger, didn't she~?"

The voice didn't answer for several seconds.

"Zenkichi Otomi had the female Twin Star over for dinner tonight. Things are going well."

"Good. I won't ask how you know that… Anything else~?"

"Things are too easy, Arima-sama."

"It's only the second day. Isn't that a good thing?"

"Luck is rarely on the side of the Twin Stars. Fate always throws its worst at them."

"What are you getting at?"

"...it's the calm before the storm, Arima-sama."

"Probably. There's no interfering we can do against fate. All we can do is push for the birth of the Miko as early as possible."

"...with all due respect, Arima-sama…"

"Yes?"

"You are a hypocrite and a liar."

"My job is to help the birth of the Miko. By any means necessary. The rest is their job."

"They're young."

"They all were."

There was an audible sigh, twisted by the phone. It echoed in the dark room.

"...good night, Arima-sama."

"Good night. Tomorrow is a new day."

* * *

 **4.5 will be a glimpse on the gossip situation... err, I mean Sayo learning about her brother's predicament on the island...  
...unless something more interesting comes up. Get creative, folks!  
** **I might even do more than one if I'm motivated. Asking on my tumblr is also fine.  
** **I cannot guarantee I'll do everything you ask for, however, but I'll do my best!**

 **Tell me what you're curious about~**


	6. 4,5: When All You Can Do Is Wait

**Heeeey! Merry Christmas and happy New Year! Hopefully 2017 will go better than 2016.**

 **I have a nice case of writer's block so... have this instead. I'll update as soon as possible. Promise.**

 **This is kind of a break update, so have a bit of insight in Mayura's head, rather than Sayo's reaction.**

 **I might do Sayo also. Haven't decided. Maybe you guys can persuade me. Lol.**

 **In the meantime, enjoy~**

* * *

Mayura and Rokuro were in the same class. Thus, Mayura saw him every day of the week. She knew him well. She could tell when something was wrong. Besides, she had known him for as long as he could remember, and she barely recalled a time when she didn't know him.

Thus, when he was five seconds late to laugh at his friend's joke, she was slightly worried.

It had been about a year since the Tragedy of Hiinatsuki. Since almost all of Rokuro's adoptive family had been wiped out, and since her father had left home.

She had been hit hard, too- she had grown up with the children of the pension. She, too, had lost friends... but he had it so much harder than her. He'd lost his family. She couldn't complain. She had to be strong for him, and support her beloved childhood friend.

Sometimes, he froze up like he had done just now. Usually, it was something they said that reminded him of someone who wasn't there. If she had been the one to say it, the guilt would crush her heart and she'd change the subject immediately, making a mental note not to say it again, but it was no use. His heart would be bleeding again, his eyes would grow unfocused, and every single time he'd interrupt her babble with a hard, cold "I need to go". Then she knew to leave him alone until the moment was right... until his brooding reached the tipping point and he'd need a shoulder to cry on. She was there, every time she could, to lend it. He never talked about what it was that he was crying for, but she didn't want to ask. Maybe, with enough time, he would forget.

His laugh rang wrong, and it slowed to a stop just a moment later. Rokuro wasn't especially subtle, or smart, and although he did a remarkable job at pretending he was where he wanted to be, it was clear when he wanted to be left alone. His friends hushed their confusion between themselves before shrugging it off as another oddity of their shark-teethed classmate, because they had no idea, of course. They had no idea what Rokuro had been through.

If she was honest with herself, neither did she. He'd lived through Hell, and the fiercest of flames had left their scars. All she could do was hope for time to heal his wounds, and gladly lend him her shoulder. All she could do was wait...

Waiting. Always waiting; waiting for him to notice her, waiting for him to heal, waiting for him to find his true drive back.

But that was fine. She had the patience. She loved him enough to wait till the end of time, if need be. She would protect him now that his fight was paused, and when he'd need to confront his demons, Mayura would be there.

Right?


	7. 5: The Courage To Speak And Listen

**Oh boy this chapter was a monster. I'm crying. It's over 4200 words long.**

 **I had a hectic January, making a comic for graduation exam and stuff. Fifteen hours of typesetting. Fifteen.  
I hate typesetting. **

**But, I'm alive! That's the most important thing. Enjoy this fluffy chapter~**

 **:)**

* * *

" _Good night. Tomorrow is a new day."_

* * *

"You know," Mayura confided, "I understand the whole marriage thing, but…"

Shimon Ikaruga hummed, signifying that he was listening despite not looking at her.

"No, actually, I don't. But don't you think this is a little…" There was a long pause, Mayura seemingly unable to find an appropriate term. She waved at their surroundings helplessly.

"...invasive?" he suggested. "Forceful?"

She winced. "...I wouldn't say that… maybe… sudden."

Shimon sighed, shaking his head. People were moving around them, paying the teens no attention, carrying boxes.

He seemed to be in a terrible mood, but Mayura could understand. She, herself, would probably yell at the source of their discomfort if she could…

...but could you really yell at the head of all the exorcists?

He was about as happy as Shimon wasn't, which meant a lot.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you two together, then." There was a strange melody in his tone of voice.

"No."

Mayura whipped towards her… towards Ikaruga Shimon, who had just spoken.

"No?" Arima loomed over them.

He was a very tall man, and he never seemed more menacing than when he dropped the happy front and looked at you from above, like a bird of prey. He was so huge. Mayura suddenly felt too big, too visible. She wanted to hide, to be invisible, just to be hidden from the cold aura of this man. He glowered dangerously, waiting for the commander's reply.

"Arima-sama…" Even the red-haired boy was hesitating. It was difficult not to be intimidated. Anyone with two brain cells, or who cared about what the two brain cells said, would be careful before crossing him. "Why do you want me to move into Otomi's house?"

Mayura didn't flinch because he spoke, no… definitely not…

She could feel the disgust on his tongue, like honey turned sour. It wasn't even directed at her; rationally, she knew that he was angry at his superior, not her. She had done nothing wrong.

It still stung, though.

"Well, Shimon-kun, I do need you two to get to know each other, you see~?" He was still smiling, but venom remained hidden underneath. "Would you rather have another house? That's not a problem, I can take care of your finances, easy~ I just thought Mayura here would rather stay in her own house, but I have someplace you might-"

"That's not it! I just..." His voice wasn't as powerful as he would've liked. It showed on his face.

The head ignored him, or pretended to ignore him. It was hard to tell with that man.

"Luckily, Otomi Yukari-san won't be around, so you don't need to worry about outside interference..."

….what?

Mayura cleared her throat, courageously interrupting the smug elephant in the room. "What did you say?"

He looked at her, expression frozen. She noticed sweat rolling down his temple, and his eyebrow twitched.

"Ah… I said… Your mother seems absent..."

She narrowed her eyes. "You know where my mother went. Yet, she didn't tell _me_." It wasn't a question.

He was definitely sweating. He avoided her eyes. "M-Maybe?"

"What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Mother." It wasn't a question either; it was a statement, an order. Suddenly she didn't feel so short, nor did he feel so tall. He shrunk a little under her accusing glare. Mayura was vaguely aware of her red-haired companion of misfortune looking on, bewildered, but she only had eyes for the man in front of her.

She tried to channel her mother's intimidation skills, and pulled off what she hoped was a sweet smile. He took a step back.

He had definitely met Yukari before. Being the spitting image of her mother was quite useful, at times. She knew herself too timid to truly be intimidating, but the resemblance worked in her favor.

She walked towards him, still smiling.

"I…" He took another step back.

She called back a terror-tinted memory, closed her eyes, tilting her head slightly, and prayed that her impression was good enough. She knew she could screw up any moment and he'd snap out of it, but… _Don't think about failure Mayura! This is for your mother!_

"Do not. Lie to me."

The exorcist leader took another step back, bumped into the table, and coughed to clear his throat. She opened her eyes again, but didn't stop smiling.

"I may have sent her a... picture and the location of your father." He was avoiding her eyes.

She did her best to make her voice dangerous. "What kind of picture?"

"...a picture of him, talking with another woman..."

Her eyes widened, and she raised an eyebrow, blinking her surprise away. He was avoiding the main issue, that much was obvious. "Why would that make my mother leave the house in a hurry?"

He narrowed his eyes, and she flinched back. Wrong thing to say. The spell was broken.

He stepped closer to her, invading her personal space. His body seemed to bend like a bamboo on the verge of breaking, folding itself to be on her eye level yet impossibly taller and she felt like a child again.

"Do not worry about your mother. Concentrate on the present, will you?" His smile was twisted.

"This is what I was talking about, Arima-sama," Ikaruga said, breaking the building hostile atmosphere between them, and reminding them that he was still in the room. He didn't move from his spot behind Mayura, however, he just elevated his voice to make himself heard. "I feel that us living together at this point would be... too soon."

Arima turned around to look at him. Like a cat pouncing on a yarn ball, he went one with an even bigger smile. "Ah, I see, Shimon-kun~ You wanted to prepare your belongings before leaving!"

Mayura stared at the Heavenly Commander. He had an odd look in the eye- like cornered prey. He was frozen on his spot, his eyes whipping around in search of a metaphorical escape.

"Arima-sama… You know that isn't what I-"

The tall man raised a hand to interrupt and looked around the room intently. The two other occupants noticed the boxes had all been brought in.

"Well you can organize your things now! I'll leave you newlyweds alone~"

He left just like that, faster than a man of his size should be able to. They were alone now. She realized she was still staring at her unfortunate friend, and dropped her eyes to the floor.

She heard Ikaruga groan. He flopped down on the couch.

"...do you want me to help you unpack?"

He glared at her. "No." He let his hardened eyes wander. "Just… go to your room or something, okay?"

She tried to smother the spark of hurt. Of course he was in a bad mood. What reasons did he have to not be in a bad mood? It made sense. It wasn't against her…

"...there's no need to snap at me."

She knew she was speaking too low for him to hear. She knew it, but she couldn't stop herself from saying it, because it was unfair and she had nothing to do with it and it _hurt_.

She went back to her room, sensing a headache coming.

* * *

"Good morning~!"

"Good morning, Rokuro."

The red-eyed boy looked around the living room in a haze. One more day before he had to go back to school. Well, one and a half, counting today.

It sucked. Rokuro didn't like school all that much. He didn't hate it, but like 95% of his generation, he liked sleeping more.

Oh well. It wasn't like he had any choice on the matter. He was _not_ becoming _an_ exorcist, so he was going to need a backup plan.

Singing was scrapped, though… what hadn't he tried yet...

Ryougo was reading the newspapers on the couch. He hadn't quite recovered from his little stunt from the previous day, so he was still resting.

Shinnosuke and Atsushi weren't home. Maybe they had gone for groceries together. They did that a lot, for some reason he couldn't fathom.

Gramps was visibly fighting a fierce battle against Benio Adashino's old granny. He clutched his console harder than he needed to.

...they were missing someone.

"Ikaruga isn't home?" he asked to no one in particular.

Ryougo answered him without even tearing his eyes away from the paper. "He moved out while you were sleeping," he said, and Rokuro raised an eyebrow.

The gesture went unseen, of course, but it's the thought that counts.

Well, now life was going to go back to normal, it seemed. With the commander out of his life, his routine would come back around.

He strolled to the kitchen. It was a tiny bit late for breakfast, but…

...but…

…..

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, ADASHINO BENIO?!"

She indicated a plate full of crumbs.

"Why are you eating in my kitchen?"

"It's not just… yours."

He sighed and sat by her side.

"What were you eating?"

She left her eyes trained on him for a second before sadly contemplating the empty plate.

"Ohagi."

He tapped a careless rhythm on the table with his fingers, thinking.

"Are you still hungry? I didn't eat anything yet."

He glanced at her. She nodded slowly.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

He felt her eyes boring when he bolted out of the kitchen and into his bedroom, but she didn't follow. He threw off his pajamas and grabbed some clean clothes, not caring all that much what they were, as long as the colors didn't clash violently. Rokuro never understood what the other guys had against pink. It was a nice, soothing color.

He glanced at the mirror and took a moment to tame his hair into something presentable, before walking back to the kitchen, grabbing his coat on the way.

"Aren't you coming? Let's go."

* * *

"Okay. I know I told you I'd buy anything you want. But in case you. didn't . realize. I DIDN'T EAT BREAKFAST. I'M HUNGRY! LET ME EAT!"

She huffed at him.

Rokuro stared fearfully at his now-empty wallet. How..? How was all of his money gone in a giant plate of ohagi..? Why?

He sighed. "So… is there anything in particular that you wanted to know?" She made an interrogative noise that he interpreted as "on what?"

"About Yu… your brother."

Her facial expression nuanced across surprised and pensive. He went back to staring at his knees.

He wasn't sure why he talked about that, but she would probably leave soon, right? The earlier he got that over with, the better.

His stomach gurgled.

What could he talk about? What should he keep silent? The tragedy itself was a given, but…

Something poked him out of his thoughts. Sticks? Chopsticks? Something sticky was being shoved into his cheek.

Ohagi.

"You can have… _one_." He felt the unusual, heavy intonation in her voice, as if what she had just said was a supreme honor.

Now that he thought of it, Yuuto also liked ohagi a lot. He shouldn't be surprised that his sister was also fond of them, should he?

Ah, memories, memories.

She poked his cheek with the sweet again, so he bit into it while she held it. He was careful to eat slowly, knowing that he probably wouldn't get anything else from that tyrant girl.

He licked his lips when he was done. "Thanks, Benio Adashino."

She nodded and blissfully went back to the meal she bought with HIS money. He grumbled a bit longer, but decided to let it go.

"You didn't tell me what you wanted to hear, Benio Adashino."

She glanced at him sideways. "Call me… Benio. Hearing you repeat... my full name… over and over again… is painful to listen… to. "

...it was probably the longest sentence he'd heard her say. She was lightening up, slowly! He was winning Yuuto's sister over…! Although she had passive aggressively insulted him in the same sentence.

"Call me Rokuro," he said, smiling. This was _improvement_.

She nodded. "Can you tell me about…" _Here it comes,_ he thought. "You?"

"...me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You are not an exorcist… yet you… know my brother. This made me… curious."

"...I don't know if there's much I could tell you, Benio Ada… Benio. I mean… it's not that I don't remember, not at all… but… they're..."

She frowned. "Things you would like to… forget?"

He chuckled.

"I'm only ever good at running away."

She didn't answer, so he glanced up.

She was looking at him. She had finished her plate and put it aside. He cast his eyes down.

Rokuro watched her put her fists on her lap in slow motion, before snapping his eyes back to hers.

She didn't move nor speak.

What was she waiting for? Had his confession made things awkward? She was staring. He knew he was going to start fidgeting. Was she judging him? Was she disappointed? He was sweating now. Wasn't she going to stop staring? She frowned again, narrowing her eyes. She was angry. Why was she angry, because he wouldn't tell her anything? Should he speak up again? He didn't want to. He shouldn't have said that. He'd ruined everything, hadn't he?

She opened her mouth and uttered a single word.

"Rokuro."

Her voice was strained.

"Running away is… acceptable. Sometimes the only way to stay alive is running away. Sometimes there is no way to choose a path, and you flee." The words spilled faster than he had ever heard from her. She took a deep breath.

"But you cannot run away forever, or else you will lose… everything. You cannot just not choose and put it off until it's too late. Because that's still choosing and that's... the worst choice you can make."

She stopped to breathe again, twice, and lowered her eyes to stare at her knuckles. Her hands were fists, clutching the fabric of her skirt.

"I mean to say that you… you evidently have something weighing on… your mind. And if you want me to… I can… listen. I know I do not… speak much but… I can listen to… you. If you… so wish. So… don't run away."

She tentatively looked back up, but slipped away as soon as she met his eyes.

"You just want to hear it." His voice came from far away, toneless, like he was underwater.

"No… No." She finally looked at him in the eye, and all he could see was determination, now. Her voice firm.

"I want to listen."

Her eyes were so similar, yet so different from Yuuto's. Yuuto's eyes had had the same shape, he noticed it now. The color, however, was different. She had a pair of beautiful blue-green eyes, of course, but there was more. There was the warmth they radiated as she leaned closer.

He couldn't help but stare. His gaze gravitated towards her eyes, and perhaps he could get lost into them and forget the acidic ones her brother once had. There was kindness in there. There was courage. They were an eagerness to _listen_. There was everything he could have been. Somehow, he knew these eyes held an entirely new world within them.

Was it a world he wanted to have anything to do with?

* * *

"...Benio. You'll really listen?"

"To anything… you want to say."

"Even if it's awful?"

"Any...thing."

"I am…" Rokuro took a deep breath.

"I am the sole survivor of the Tragedy of Hiinastuki."

Benio stilled.

"And I… I killed them all. They died because of me. _Because I was weak and blind._ "

Shimon stopped dead in his tracks.

* * *

Rationally, Shimon had known that it wasn't Mayura's fault that he was shoved out of bed way too early in the morning and set up by his superior to invade her house. He'd been cranky, uncomfortable, and taken off guard.

So, he'd given her the cold shoulder. Maybe just a little bit. She had been nice during dinner, the previous day. A little too nice, maybe. She agreed with anything they said, and glanced nervously at both him and Rokuro. She made mildly funny jokes.

She was all-around a normal, boring middle school girl, and that made him grit his teeth.

Then there was this morning. Where she'd made _Arima_ cower for a while. That had given him quite the chill, honestly.

She had scared _him_ just the tiniest bit. And Arima had scared him, too, with his very special brand of gloomy scheming.

Then she was back to the nice girl he was getting to know.

And it made him angry.

If she did have fight in her, why act so shy? So meager? So.. shallow? Was it an act to make Rokuro like her better? Was it a lack of self-confidence? Did she think he'd like her better this way?

The Twin Stars were supposed to represent hope. The end of the thousand years war. They weren't supposed to be… two teenagers constantly being awkward with each other.

Not a shallow little girl who knew nothing of their fight and a teenager who never dedicated enough time to make friends. He had never considered romance before, it'd been unnecessary. He had built himself to fight on the island until he ran out of enemies or died. Maybe after, he'd have had the time. Once Chiiko was safe. Once Magano was gone. In the distant future where he wouldn't see the polluted skies of their personal hell anymore.

And now, he was supposed to lie down his weapons and romance a..?

Shimon sighed. "I'm going out." He realized Otomi had left the room, and repeated louder. "I'll be back… soon." Just clearing his head away from this mess.

He didn't know the district very well, so he had wandered off to the only place he knew-

The Seika dorm.

* * *

He recognized Rokuro and Adashino Benio ahead. They had their backs to him.

He suddenly remembered his curiosity about Rokuro. The not-an-exorcist-anymore who quit two years ago. It somewhat slipped his mind with the whole wedding thing, but…

He found that he was still curious.

He honestly thought the boy interesting. Funny, in his own somewhat pathetic way. He didn't know what made Rokuro quit, but it seemed to have wounded his soul. He had seen it before numerous times. Perhaps the boy's parents had died, or a friend..? It really wasn't his business, but the violent reaction from their first meeting made him wonder if the trauma wasn't something more… unique? He didn't know how to put it.

He couldn't just ask, though.

They were were within earshot now, should he call out to them..?

"I am the sole survivor of the Tragedy of Hiinastuki."

Shimon stilled.

"And I… I killed them all. They died because of me. _Because I was weak and blind._ "

...it clicked into place.

The redhead backtracked the way he came.

* * *

 _Where is Rokuro?_

Ryougo chewed on his fingernails. It'd been hours since his little brother had left "to get breakfast" with Adashino. He hadn't gone off to pick a fight with the Heavenly Commander, had he? He had the feeling that he had gotten himself in trouble. He was going to thoroughly chew him out as soon as-

A ring startled him out of his thoughts. The front door!

He stood up, making the chair screech painfully. Ryougo grimaced. He groaned when he bumped into the table in his hurry, too, but he couldn't care less.

"I'm back." His little brother's voice. It was empty of its unusual energy. Hollow. A bit rough. Mental alarm bells went off.

"Welcome back," he said, forcing a smile. It was dark outside, and raining. Rokuro's hair was wet, and his eyes, downcast. What happened while he was outside?

"Hey, come in." Rokuro called out, turning around without sparing Ryougo a glance. "You'll catch a cold, Benio."

Ryougo took a step back to let both teens in. Somehow, he hadn't expected Benio Adashino to still be with Rokuro.

"Rokuro?"

His little brother hummed in response, setting aside shoes and damp coat.

"Are you okay? Look at me."

He obediently looked up to meet his eyes, rubbing them with a hand.

"What happened to you?!" He grabbed his brother's cheeks, inspecting the blackening skin around his red eye. Had he taken a hit..? The white of his eyes was bloodshot and puffy, as if he had cried.

"He wouldn't… listen," Benio interjected coolly. Her eyes looked puffy, too, but it might just be the lamplight.

"You said _you_ wanted to listen!"

"I did… didn't… I?"

Rokuro beamed, and Ryougo let his hand drop to his side. "Yeah, you did. Thanks." Ryougo stared.

He didn't seem… empty, after all. It was another kind of emotionlessness.

Rokuro looked more peaceful than he had seen him in two years. Was it thanks to Adashino?

There was nothing that could be done, then, except grin to them both and fuss over their drenched clothes.

As long as his little brother was happy, he was satisfied.

* * *

The next day, Rokuro stared at the ceiling, content.

Okay, so tomorrow, he was going back to class, but it wasn't so bad. He hadn't felt so… calm in a while. Maybe talking had been what he needed most, after all.

Oh, he was certain he would relapse soonish into darker thoughts and squabbling with Ryougo, but talking with Benio had been… nice. Even if she had beaten him up to a pulp until he admitted that it wasn't his fault if his friends had fallen.

* * *

 _A battle cry echoes across raw hills,_

 _Angry tears stream down flesh, soundless,_

 _Red when they touch the ground._

* * *

He, ultimately, had told her everything. She had not liked it. At all. Benio had screamed at him. He had apologized, screamed, and she had cried, too, for what seemed like hours. He had too. And then they had sat on a bench, huddled together and staring into space, until one of them had started talking. He didn't remember who, but they talked and talked and talked. She told him about what Yuuto had been like, when they were children.

It was funny in a very sad way, how different Benio's Yuuto had been from the Yuuto that Rokuro knew and hated.

* * *

 _A sob echoes across raw hills,_

 _Choked by rage. A step back, and a grin._

 _Flesh clashes with bone, and tears._

* * *

He told her what Yuuto had done. He told her about their first meeting, and their last, and everything in-between.

When everything had been said- it wasn't everything, but it was as much as they could get past their throats that day- after a number of instances shouting at each other- they'd felt hungry, and realized that it had gotten late already.

Ryougo hadn't been mad, surprisingly enough. They'd eaten dinner and Rokuro had fallen asleep on the couch.

He woke up at five in the morning (Ryougo would be proud) with Benio gone for ages, of course. He hadn't gotten to say goodbye. He mostly lazed around, zombieing through the day, and went off to nap again around four. He just didn't find it in him to want anything but stay cozily in bed, just for today. It felt too unreal that someone out there _knew_. And honestly forgave him. It felt unreal and it sapped all his energy, but in a nice, warm way. He wanted to bask in that feeling just a bit longer, so he had taken a nap, sleeping dreamless.

* * *

 _The madman's laugh echoes across raw hills_

 _A broken body lays at his feet, unmoving._

 _He laughs like he has never laughed._

* * *

...sleeping dreamless, until now. Now, he was wide awake. He glanced at his wall of clocks- eight pm.

Looks like he had nicely screwed up his sleep schedule for school. Well, too bad.

He yawned, stretched, and staggered to the dining room.

"Hey, Ryougo."

"Oh, you're awake." Ryougo dances on the ball of his feet. Does he have something to hide? Did he burn dinner again? "Erm… Rokuro… Benio-chan didn't tell you if she planned to go anywhere, did she?"

He shook his head, feeling dread pool in his stomach.

"According to Shimon, there was a huge clash of enchanted powers in Magano, and…"

Ryougo wasn't looking at him in the eye. "Finish your sentence, Ryougo."

His adopted brother tried to smile, and took his hand, guiding him to the couch. He sat beside him. Rokuro grit his teeth.

"Finish your sentence, Ryougo. What happened in Magano? What did Shimon find?"

"...nothing," Ryougo replied, and Rokuro didn't understand. He couldn't. What was that supposed to mean, nothing? What did that clash have to do with Benio? "Baa-chan last saw her around six o'clock, and not since. Shimon says the clash happened around six, and was strong enough to slightly disrupt the barrier. He went there to investigate, but whatever it was, it was already over. There was nothing." Ryougo's head hung lower and lower as he spoke, and Rokuro felt like his ears were filled with cotton. The impression of unreal-ness he had perceived all day turned sour. "There's been no trace of her since Baa-chan last saw her."

"She's… she's gone. Benio Adashino is missing."


End file.
